Getting ready for the annual meeting - The TRB cheat sheet

We have posted TRB’s 2010 State of TRB Report on the committee’s wiki.

Today’s blog posting concerns the use of communications tools, with commentary from your committee co-chair.

TRB Staff and Committees Make Progress in Enhancing Use of Communications Tools

Effective communications have always been critical to the success of TRB standing committees.

With travel budgets being cut, robust communications portfolios are more important than ever.

• Each committee was asked by TAC to review its communications portfolio during 2009.(Currently the committee maintains a wiki and a blog. In addition, we have a presence on Facebook and LinkedIn. )
  
• TRB has been updating/expanding its guidelines to committees on effective communications portfolios and sample templates and guidance for committee webpages have been provided to the committees. (We will be considering whether to convert our wiki to TRB’s web pages.)
  

In response to an offer earlier this year, more than 170 standing committees appointed a communications coordinator to work with TRB staff and other committees to enhance the communications portfolios (Ann Overton is the T2 committee’s coordinator.)

• Three webinars and communiqués will have been provided for communications coordinators by January 2010.
  
• A shared webpage for communications coordinators was launched. The webpage contains guidance and discussion areas for questions and sharing of experiences.
  
• A smaller Council of communications coordinators was formed and works with TRB staff between the issuance of webinars and communiqués to the larger group.

The Technical Activities Division, with help from National Academies staff, initiated a review and a possible reorganization of the Division’s webpages.

• Will complement the revamped TRB website that was launched in August.
• A detailed survey of over 350 members and friends who volunteered to participate in this effort is underway and the analysis of the results will be concluded shortly after the Annual Meeting.
  
• For our chairs, our objective is to make the ‘business’ side of running a committee as painless as possible-- easy access to all of the annual deadlines we ask you to meet, templates and samples to work from, etc.
  
• Another objective is to do more to explain how the work of the standing committees fits in to the bigger TRB picture and how to go about becoming a friend of a committee and what that means.

TRB examining opportunities in Web 2.0/social networking.

• Revamped TRB website includes links to social networking sites.
  
• National Academies Mirzayan Fellow assigned to TRB researched social networking opportunities for TRB and transportation organizations.
  
• As a result, TRB has initiated a Twitter account. Follow us at TRBofNA.
  
• Upcoming webinar for committee communications coordinators will address potential committee applications of social networking.
  
• Currently, at least 20 committees have established social networking sites.

Two Sunday workshops and several sessions at 2010 TRB Annual Meeting will be dedicated to social networking. (Check out sessions/workshops the committee is co-sponsoring:

• Jan 10 2010 9:00 AM- 12:00 PM: Everything You Need to Know About Web 2.0: Using Communication and Collaboration to Improve Transportation, Marriott, Thurgood Marshall East
• Jan 13 2010 8:00 AM- 9:45 AM: New Media Communications in Transportation, Hilton, Lincoln East