Communicating the value of research and accelerating innovation at 2010 TRB annual meeting

In this and future blogs, we’ll be previewing the excellent sessions and workshops the committee has been busy organizing for the 2010 TRB annual meeting.

Be sure to attend the workshop, “Communicating the Value of Research and Accelerating Innovation Implementation for Transportation Professionals” on Sunday, co-sponsored with the Committee on Conduct of Research. Co-chair Larry Orcutt has put together an great chance to get to know the NCHRP Project 20-78: "Communicating the Value of Research Training," and an NHI course, "Leap Not Creep: Accelerating Innovation Implementation." Transportation professionals will learn to overcome typical communication challenges and institute best-practice activities in the research process, which results in successfully conveying the value of research to key audiences and leads to innovation. A panel of practitioners will share innovation success stories, including:

• Committee member and the committee’s TRB Communications Coordinator Ann M. Overton, Virginia Transportation Research Council, will lead with ” What Works in Communicating Transportation Research: View from the Field”
• Kim Hilsenbeck, NuStats Partners LP will introduce us to the NCHRP project with “Communicating the Value of Research: Overview”
• “Introduction to National Highway Institute Course "Leap Not Creep: Accelerating Innovation" will be given by Joseph P. Conway, Federal Highway Administration.

Some of the innovation success stories will include:

• Finding the Spotlight by Ellen Oman, Washington State Department of Transportation
• Innovation Success Story: Creating and Sustaining Innovation Culture at Utah Department of Transportation by Committee member Rukhsana Kahn Lindsey, Utah Department of Transportation and Jim McMinimee, Utah Department of Transportation
• Moving from Research to Services for Traveling Public: Unique Public-Private Partnership Path by Thomas West, California Center for Innovative Transportation.

Great example of showcasing the value of research

Recently I attended a program at NASA. It was a pleasure to see government agency staff truly excited about their agency and its mission. But, the most exciting aspect of their presentation was an excellent sample of communicating the value of technology transfer. Take a look at their site, NASA @ Home and City, to see, hear and experience the results of NASA research. The site vividly showcases technologies developed by NASA that have been applied to technologies from cosmetics to wireless headsets to freeze-dried foods. The site also provides additional information on these technologies and you can truly see that “space is everywhere you look.”

Great example of showcasing the value of research

Recently I attended a program at NASA. It was a pleasure to see government agency staff truly excited about their agency and its mission. But, the most exciting aspect of their presentation was an excellent sample of communicating the value of technology transfer. Take a look at their site, NASA @ Home and City, to see, hear and experience the results of NASA research. The site vividly showcases technologies developed by NASA that have been applied to technologies from cosmetics to wireless headsets to freeze-dried foods. The site also provides additional information on these technologies and you can truly see that “space is everywhere you look.”

News from members

Steven Jones will be leaving Ireland and returning to the faculty of the University of Alabama (UA) in January 2010.

Jennifer Sheldon has resigned from the committee as she has accepted another position within the University of Washington and will be transitioning from the Transportation Northwest Center and transportation research to the medical research world. We wish her all the best.

Announcing the committee's new strategic plan

Since the committee’s summer meeting in Washington, DC members and friends have been busy updating the committee’s strategic plan and planning TRB annual meeting sessions for 2010. As usual, there was lots of energy at the end of September confirming speakers and refining descriptions. We have a terrific workshop on communicating the value of research planned. The workshop also incorporates the National Highway Institute course on technology transfer, “Leap, Not Creep: Accelerating Innovation Implementation.” We are also sponsoring a session on new media and what it means for transportation. The next blog will go into more depth on the workshop and sessions coming up. In the meanwhile, take a look at the committee’s strategic plan and give us a comment on two.