Conduit of Research TRB Conduct of Research Committee Dec 2006 Newsletter

We've been out of touch for a while. Hopefully the next newsletter will be out a bit quicker than this one.

As always, we are interested in expanding this newsletter to include items of interest to researchers, research administrators, and others. Submit ideas and articles to Jason Bittner at bittner@engr.wisc.edu. If you prefer not to receive this newsletter, please email me.

This section features comments from the Chair of the committee, Laurie McGinnis, including her vision for running the committee and other issues.

This section features upcoming events and those that the Committee has sponsored, meeting information, and other relevant matters to Committee work. It also features a member profile -- this month our featured member is Nancy Chinlund of the California Department of Transportation.

This section looks at a focused special topic or presentation. This month we highlight a paper submitted by Sam Elrahman of New York State DOT. An abstract is provided here and the full paper is available in the Resources Section of our Committee Website.

This section will detail important new publications, opportunities for comment on works, and other related information. This includes items important to the Research and Education SECTION and the Policy & Management GROUP of TRB.

This section will highlight upcoming Calls for Papers and conferences of interest to the Research community.

This section highlights new (or maybe forgotten) publications of interest to the Research community.

Lessons on Collaboration

I am very pleased to be able to issue this newsletter before the close of 2006. Not only does it allow me a chance to wish you a joyous and safe holiday season, it offers the opportunity to get you thinking ahead to the Annual Meeting and to future initiatives for our committee.

Once again, the Conduct of Research Committee is sponsoring a diverse set of sessions at the TRB Annual Meeting in January. Building on the theme of collaboration that has been prominent in our discussions and activities over the past year, two sessions are planned focusing on both the people and processes of collaboration. Our Monday morning session features leaders of TRB, FHWA, CUTC, and AASHTO discussing characteristics and drivers of collaboration, along with examples of successful collaborative initiatives from their research organizations. The Wednesday morning session focuses on the people side of collaboration, touching on three of the seven keys to building a robust research program: trust, making deals, and empowering staff. Both sessions look very exciting and informative, not to mention the line-up of A-list presenters. Check out the session details later in the newsletter.

In addition, don’t forget the two workshop opportunities available on Sunday. Conduct of Research is co-sponsoring “Use of Technologies in Communicating” and “Knowledge Management: Meeting Organizations’ Ever Changing Demand.”

Beyond what we’ll learn about collaboration at the Annual Meeting, I believe there is much to learn on this topic from the members and friends of the Conduct of Research Committee. With this newsletter, I’m initiating a series about lessons on collaboration. I invite members and friends of the committee to send me brief stories describing collaboration successes and/or failures including, of course, the lessons learned. We will publish as many as possible in the newsletter and feature them on the Web site. If you have a story to share, please send it to me at mcgin001@umn.edu.

To initiate the series, I’d like to share a story from my experience at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies. I have had the pleasure of building and participating in a successful and rewarding collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Transportation over the past 15 years. Beyond the typical project-based activity that we engage in frequently, we have chosen to enter into a formal, program-level partnership between the two organizations. Long-term relationships and a history of trust have contributed to a spirit of collaboration for a long time. But, we recognized that the commitment to collaborate needed to outlast any specific people, so we moved to institutionalize the commitment.

Leaders from CTS and Mn/DOT’s Research Services worked with a facilitator to formalize the partnership over a period of several months. In a true collaborative exercise, we jointly developed a shared mission and goals for the partnership, along with strategies to achieve the goals. Following this, we identified roles and processes for working together. The facilitator helped us work though differences in our perspectives and cultures along the way. The process resulted in the creation of a formal partnership agreement that institutionalized this collaboration at multiple levels of each organization. The lesson learned is that desire and the commitment of time are necessary ingredients to successful collaboration, but may not be sufficient. The process of developing and documenting mission, goals, strategies and roles is invaluable in delivering on the promise of collaborative work.

I wish you a happy and healthy year in 2007 and I look forward to seeing many of you at the annual meeting in a few weeks.

The Conduct of Research Committee Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 23, 2007, 8:00 am until 12:00 pm, at the Hilton Washington Hotel. An agenda will be distributed prior to the meeting.

In addition to a series of sessions featuring the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP II), our committee is sponsoring or co-sponsoring a number of sessions and workshops during the upcoming Annual Meeting. See the complete interactive program for the Annual Meeting at www.trb.org/am/ip. Here is a quick rundown of Conduct of Research sessions:

Workshop 170
Knowledge Management: Meeting Organizations' Every Changing Demand
Sunday, January 21, 2007, 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM, Hilton

This workshop is co-sponsored with the Management and Productivity Committee (ABC20), Technology Transfer Committee (ABG30), Library and Information Science for Transportation Committee (ABG40), and Maintenance and Operations Personnel Committee (AHD15). A preliminary agenda is available at http://www.trb.org/am/ip/assembly_detail.asp?id=7917&e=186.

Workshop 175
Use of Technologies in Communicating
Sunday, January 21, 2007, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM, Hilton
Committee Member Bonnie A. Osif, Pennsylvania State University, presiding

This workshop is co-sponsored by the Transportation Education and Training Committee (ABG20). The workshop examines several technologies available to the transportation community for communication and training delivery. It focuses on the practical use of these technologies for seminars, workshops, teleconferences, video conferences, and distance learning as well as for archiving content for future online access.

Session 228
Meeting the Challenge to Achieve a Nationally Coordinated Research Program
Monday, January 22, 2007, 8:00 AM - 9:45 AM, Hilton

This session features research leaders who understand and practice the art of collaboration discuss how their organizations partner to achieve desired results. Speakers include Dennis Judycki of the Federal Highway Administration, Dan Turner representing the Council of University Transportation Centers, Robert Skinner of TRB, and Wes Lum representing AASHTO.

Session 642
People and Deals of Research Collaboration: Keys to Building a Robust Research Program
Wednesday, January 24, 2007, 8:00 AM - 9:45 AM, Hilton
Committee Member Barbara Thomas Harder, B T Harder Inc., presiding

This session will continue our efforts to highlight the 7 Keys for Building a Robust Research Program and focus on workforce aspects, specifically highlighting the importance of trust within an organization and among collaborators to yield successes in research collaboration.

Our committee is sponsoring 4 separate sessions looking at the elements of the new Strategic Highway Research Program at the Annual Meeting. The sessions are:

These sessions intend to highlight the 2007 workplans in each of the 4 SHRP II areas.

The Mid-Year Meeting was held in conjunction with the 2nd International Technology Transfer Symposium in St. Petersburg, Florida in late July and early August. The Conduct of Research committee met over two days. A highlight of the meeting was hearing about the research program at NASA from one of the committee's new members, Ed Johnson. Draft minutes are available on the website at http://www.mrutc.org/cor/meetings/minutes/index.html.

Committee Chair Laurie McGinnis presented in a workshop at the July 2006 national meeting of the AASHTO Research Advisory Council discussing strategies for state DOT research programs to increase collaborative research efforts with other state programs, universities, and others, such as federal agencies and private companies. The presentation provided an overview of the role, membership, and strategic plan of our Committee. We also had a panel discussion of the committee’s goal to deliver information and resources to members of the research community to facilitate collaboration and described the development of our Web site with information about and links to programs, timelines, and procedures of transportation research organizations. The presentation was well received and featured fellow committee member Jason Bittner and Leni Oman as well.

Nancy Chinlund, AICP, is Chief of the Office of Planning, Policy and Innovation in Caltrans’ Division of Research and Innovation (DRI). In 2003, she was asked to help DRI develop a new research selection process that would involve representatives throughout Caltrans (from a wide range of program areas, and many levels of staff and management) in development of the Department’s research agenda. Nancy loves transportation, research, and large-scale process – so this was a wonderful opportunity! The process has been challenging, but successful – and continues to grow and change. The primary focus of this year’s activities is development of a Strategic Research Plan, including strategic objectives, key outcomes and research roadmaps for ten program areas. The Plan is designed both to help Caltrans make strategic research investments, and to identify promising partnership opportunities. In addition, the roadmaps will include multi-stage project plans that should enhance eventual deployment of research products.

In addition to managing research selection and deployment processes, Nancy oversees planning, policy and modal (transit, rail and aeronautics) research – all areas that have been important to her throughout her career. She received her MA in Urban Planning from UCLA, and began her planning career in Los Angeles, working for the Southern California Association of Governments. She managed the Regional Transportation Plan at the end of the 1970’s, when the region was experimenting with a variety of new options (e.g., high-occupancy vehicle lanes, changeable message signs), and seeking to understand the complex relationships between transportation, land use, and the environment (especially air quality and energy consumption).

When Nancy married her husband, Steuart, he talked her into moving to Northern California. There, she worked as a consulting associate for Crain and Associates, developing transit and paratransit plans for local government. Eventually, she established her own consulting practice, Strategic Design Associates. This gave her an opportunity to be more flexible as her daughter, Erica, was growing up, and led her to explore a wide range of work projects dealing not only with transportation, but also with community process, community design, health and human services. When her daughter left for college, Nancy joined Caltrans in the New Technology and Research Division (now DRI).

Nancy and Steuart currently live in the foothills of the Sierras, and enjoy the peace of country living. The daily commute to Sacramento takes much too long, but gives her a real incentive to work with the research community to develop better commute options!

The website is certainly open for new content and suggestions. Communications subcommittee chair Jason Bittner is always looking for items of interest for inclusion in this newsletter. Please forward comments.

Michael Bonini is the chair of the Subcommittee on membership. Three new members have joined our ranks: Kathryn Harrington-Hughes, Nancy Chinlund of Caltrans, and J. Edward Johnson of NASA's Goddard Space Institute have been appointed to the Committee.

Monique Evans is the chair of the Subcommittee on Strategic Planning. All Goal Teams continue to make good progress on team initiatives. Sue Sillick is now the goal team leader for Goal 5 (Coordinating Research Programs).

At the 2007 Conduct of Research Committee midyear meeting, a primary focus will be an update to the strategic plan to set the direction for the next three years.

Feature

* Participatory Action Research -- an abstract

COR Committee Member Gary Frederick, Sam Elrahman, and Yuko Nakanishi have authored a paper that recognizes the divide that exists between researchers and the practitioners. Users of research products are primarily responsible for the challenges that practitioners face in promoting the implementation of products. The authors argue that until this divide is bridged, implementation of research products will be a forced and difficult endeavor.

Despite overwhelming evidence pointing to the need to strengthen implementation of transportation Research Development & Technology Transfer (RD&T) products and ensure their absorption into operations, and the establishment of federal technology transfer legislation, progress on this front remains slow. Implementation, for the most part, remains unstructured and informally conducted. There exists an institutional dichotomy between suppliers of research products and users, i.e. between researchers and practitioners, which creates a wide gap between theoretical and practical knowledge which can be shared and assimilated to increase the productivity and efficiency of the research process. Theory and practice are conducted separately rather than collaboratively. Substantial resources and efforts are expended in order to create linkages between them. But these linkages are for the most part forced and artificial, as they occur after research products are conceived and imposed on the world of practice.

This paper maps the infrastructure of Transportation RD&T and analyzes how this infrastructure operates. It examines how linkages between producers and users are created and argues that for research products to be implemented and utilized, those linkages must be created very early in the process, and before research products are conceived. The paper explores principles and methodologies of “PAR” and examines the advantages of these methodologies, particularly their ability to bridge the gap between theory and practice, facilitate implementation of research products, and ensure that such products are developed to address problems facing practitioners and users. Recommendations for addressing the institutional dichotomy between theory and practice are suggested.

Read the full paper at: www.mrutc.org/COR/resources/whitepapers/ElrahmanPaperCOR.doc

Transportation professionals who want to learn more about the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) national research and technology (R&T) initiatives or who have questions about R&T programs now have a convenient way to obtain that information. FHWA's Office of Corporate Research and Technology is sponsoring a series of Web conferences on R&T programs. Participants can access the Web conferences online in their offices or meeting rooms.

The purpose of the Web conferences is to provide a venue for the latest information on national R&T initiatives and to identify ways that FHWA field offices can participate in those programs or take action at the local level to enhance the delivery of programs. The conferences are targeted at staff in FHWA field offices, but representatives of State and local highway agencies and other transportation professionals are welcome to participate.

FHWA launched the R&T Web conference series in September 2006 with a session titled "Engaging the University Transportation Centers (UTC) in Highway Research and Technology: Delivering a Nationally Coordinated R&T Program." The session focused on the U.S. Department of Transportation-funded UTCs, which were created to promote innovative education, research, and technology transfer at universities throughout the country. FHWA has a strong interest in advancing the research at UTCs and moving it into practice. FHWA field office staff is encouraged to assist UTCs in their respective States to develop and deliver their programs, including participating in the project selection process and disseminating and applying research results.

Future program topics include "Transportation Pooled Fund Program," "Technology Transfer: Roles and Responsibilities," "Statewide Planning and Research Guidance," "Advanced Research," and "Market-Ready Technologies and Innovations."

The conferences are available through FHWA's Web-based conferencing system, which is managed by the National Highway Institute (NHI). After registering for a conference, participants can access the visual portion of the conference online with a computer and the audio via a telephone line. For a conference calendar and registration information, visit the NHI Web site at www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/webconference.

* NCHRP 20-71 Effective Experimental Design and Data Analysis in Transportation Research

The National Cooperative Highway Research Program has released a Request for Proposals aimed to develop guidance for effective experimental design and data analysis for transportation research. Proposals are due December 4th. Details at: http://www.trb.org/trbnet/projectdisplay.asp?projectid=657.

* USDOT Announces Tier I University Transportation Centers
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) has announced the ten universities that have been selected to receive the Tier I University Transportation Center (UTC) designation. The universities were chosen as the result of an open competitive selection process outlined in Section 5402 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). Each Regional UTC is authorized under SAFETEA-LU to receive up to $1 million in each of FY 2007-2009, which must be matched dollar-for-dollar with non-federal funding. Universities selected as Tier I UTCs are:

* Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
* Iowa State University
* Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
* San José State University
* University of Florida
* University of Idaho
* University of Maryland
* University of Michigan
* University of South Florida
* University of Southern California

The UTC Program was initiated in 1987 with the mission “to advance U.S. technology and expertise in the many disciplines comprising transportation through the mechanisms of education, research and technology transfer at university-based centers of excellence.” According to RITA, Tier I UTCs are expected to work collaboratively with DOT and state and local transportation stakeholders, and to provide leadership in making national and regional contributions to solving immediate and long-range transportation challenges.

* The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger by Marc Levinson.

Chair: Laurie McGinnis, Associate Director, University of Minnesota
Secretary: Bonnie Osif, Engineering Librarian, Pennsylvania State University
TRB Staff Representative: Mark Norman, Director/Technical Activities

Emeritus Member: Denis Donnelly, Research Engineer, Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association

Jason Bittner, Deputy Director, National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education, UW-Madison
Michael Bonini, Program Manager, Bureau of Planning and Development, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Nancy Chinlund, Chief, Research Program Development Branch, Caltrans
Debra Elston, Research/Financial Services Team Leader, Federal Highway Administration

Monique Evans, Admin-Research & Development, Ohio Department of Transportation
Gary Frederick, Director of Transportation Research and Development Bureau, New York State Department of Transportation

J. Edward Johnson, Chief Scientist, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Wilfrid Nixon, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Iowa
Leni Oman, Director Research Office, Washington State Department of Transportation

Ed Seymour, Assistant Director and head of the Transportation Operations Group, Texas Transportation Institute

Amy Starr, Research Engineer and Section Manager, Nebraska Department of Roads

Prog #	Title	Date	Time	Hotel/Room
211	SHRP II: Safety	Mon 1/22/2007	8:00am- 9:45am	Marriott
275	SHRP II: Capacity	Mon 1/22/2007	10:15am-12:00pm	Marriott
471	SHRP II: Reliability	Tue 1/23/2007	10:15am-12:00pm	Marriott
671	SHRP II: Renewal	Wed 1/24/2007	10:15am-12:00pm	Marriott