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.