1. Transportation Research Board Update for the AASHTO Research Advisory Council July 24, 2018

2. Transportation Research Board
Advise
Convene
Research at at
Independent, objective, evidence-based, thorough, fair, non-partisan policy studies done in accordance with National Academies procedures
Annual Meeting (13,700+)
50-70 conferences & workshops
220 standing technical committees
Webinars (35,000+ attendees)
Cooperative Research Programs (highways, transit, airports, behavioral traffic safety)
900 papers in Transportation Research Record
TRID bibliographic database

3. TRB 2018 Budget
Core Technical Activities $16.6 m Cooperative Research Programs 61.2 m Consensus and Advisory Studies 3.4 m Conferences and workshops 1.7 m SHRP m Marine Board 0.2 m Total $88.6 m

4. 2018 TRB Revenue Sources
State DOTs 51% Federal Aviation Administration 17% Federal Highway Administration 10% Federal Transit Administration 7% Other USDOT Agencies 3% Other sponsors 2% Annual Meeting, Affiliates, Fees, etc. 10%

5. Major Initiatives
Diversify revenue sources and stakeholder involvement in TRB
“Critical Issues in Transportation”
New TRB Strategic Plan
Partner with U.S. and international transportation organizations
Inclusion and diversity strategic plan
Marketing and communications
TRB Centennial (2020)

6. New TRB Strategic Plan Just getting underway
June 2019 adoption by Executive Committee
Will build on a number of efforts underway
NRC transformation and communications review
“Critical Issues in Transportation”
Inclusion and Diversity, International Activities, transformational technologies, resilience, public health strategic plans
CRP business process review
Technical Activities Council strategic alignment process

7. TRB New Strategic Plan Challenges and opportunities
Uncertain funding picture
Diversifying stakeholder base
Delivering products and services faster
Rapid changes occurring in transportation
Meeting changing sponsor needs and expectations
Digital communications and products
Measuring impact of what TRB does

8. NRC Transformation Effort
Teams will address process and organizational issues in the areas of finance, HR, and IT.
Another team, originally was tasked with addressing issues with the consensus study process, but has expanded its scope to address the full portfolio of products produced by the NRC and make recommendations on how sponsor needs can best be met through a range of products.

9. NRC Communications Review
The communications environment is undergoing rapid and dramatic change
Increasing digitization of media consumption
Over 60% of digital time is now mobile or non-desktop devices
Need to think first about producing digital products, and increasingly for mobile platforms
Current Academies digital efforts are tactical and inefficient, and not mobile optimized
Need to move from current product-oriented transactional communications to a more strategic approach that is user focused
Need to use data and social science to generate audience insights

10. NRC Communications Review
Need to use data and social science to generate audience insights
Need to think about communications from the beginning of a study or planning for an activity, and include in sponsor funding agreements
Think of ourselves not just being in the evidence business but the communications of evidence business
Create a centralized communications function to provide resources, expertise, policies, internal communications
Need to have someone who is constantly staying current on communications
Need data analysts to understand our audiences and what their needs are

11. TRB Centennial
Year-long celebration from 2020 TRB Annual Meeting to 2021 Annual Meeting
Theme: “Moving Ideas: Advancing Society –-100 Years of Transportation Research”
TRB history book
Videos, website, events
Centennial booth at Exhibit Hall
Fundraising campaign underway

12. The TRB Centennial Task Force, created in February 2017, has established the goals and theme of the celebration and developed a visual identifier to draw attention to items associated with the celebration. The Task Force also established a plan that includes a core set of activities and products being developed as part of the celebration.
The plan supports a yearlong celebration that will begin at the 99th Annual Meeting in 2020 and conclude at the 100th Annual Meeting in The focus of the 2020 Annual Meeting will be on TRB’s history, and the focus of the 2021 meeting will be on the future. The date of TRB’s anniversary is November 11, 2020.
Components of the celebration include a website, brochure, videos, centennial booths at both the 2020 and 2021 Annual Meetings, and a roaming exhibit. One of the highest profile and, perhaps, the longest lasting legacies of the celebration will be a book on TRB’s first 100 years.
The book is being authored by Sarah Jo Peterson, a professional historian, with a Ph.D. in history from Yale University and a master’s of science degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Wisconsin. Distribution of the book will take place during the January 2020 Annual Meeting which is expected to attract more than 13,000 transportation professionals from around the world. Organizations that become Century Patrons before September 30, 2019, will have their logos enshrined in the publication.
The goals of the celebration are to promote the value of transportation research; recognize, honor, and celebrate the TRB community; and highlight 100 years of accomplishments.
TRB has established two ways to support the celebration. Individuals are invited to make a tax-deductible contribution to the Century Club. Organizations, both public and private, are encouraged to become Century Patrons. Century Club and Century Patrons contributions will be recognized in the history book, the Centennial website, at various locations during the 2020 and 2021 Annual Meeting, and as part of the Centennial’s roaming exhibit that will be displayed at meetings outside of Washington, DC.
To learn more about the Century Club and Century Patron programs, to see a list of who have already contributed, or to make your contribution please visit