MEETING NOTES
RAC Leadership Teleconference
Thursday, October 10, 2013
1:30 – 3:30 pm, EDT
Participants: Skip Paul (Chair), Michael Bonini, Anne Ellis, Cynthia Gerst, Allison Hardt, Chris Hedges, David Jared, Chris Jenks, Cameron Kergaye, Tim Klein, Jim McDonnell, Mark Morvant, John Moulden, Tommy Nantung, Leni Oman, Neil Pedersen, Steve Pepin, Amy Schutzbach.
Decisions and action items are underscored.
1. Roll Call
2. Additions to agenda
Skip added an item on the January 2013 RAC meeting.
3. Notes from previous meeting
A MOTION (SCHUTZBACH/JARED) to approve the meeting notes was APPROVED.
4. AASHTO Report -Jim McDonnell
Reauthorization recommendations from RAC and SCOR have been submitted. These and other recommendation will be presented and reviewed next week during the AASHTO fall meeting.
The “Sweet 16” award certificates will be presented to the Board members from those states at the annual meeting next week. During the SCOH meeting, brief presentations on five of the projects will be given by the SCOH member from that state.
5. TRB/SCOR Report – Chris Jenks
Registration is now open for the 2014 annual meeting and it looks like we may be heading to another record attendance.
In the NCHRP, about 80 problem statements have been received thus far for the FY2015 program. We expect more from a couple of AASHTO committees who are allowed to submit beyond the September deadline.
Most project panels have been formed for the FY2014 projects; all will be completed by the end of this month. Initial panel meetings are normally held during August to mid September. However, this year it has been stretched to mid November. Because of uncertainties, we took a more cautious approach. FHWA required a new agreement to continue to manage NCHRP starting with the FY 2014 projects. Although we were confident of having an agreement, there could have been delays in fully executing it. We are still waiting for the signed agreement from FHWA, but it has been entered into the FHWA system effective Oct 1—so we are told.
We are getting ready for the DecemberSCOR meeting. One of the items to be discussed is the results of an NCHRP-funded policy study: “A Potential Process for the Development and Implementation of a National, Coordinated, Multi-Modal Transportation Research Framework: A Policy Study.” Dave Huft, a committee member, and its chair, Sue McNeil, University of Delaware, will present the findings. You will remember this was a recommendation from the international scan on research management.
The TCRP governing board will meet October 25 to pick FY2014 projects. As you know, funding for TCRP was cut back from $10 million down to $3.5 since 2011. Funding for FY2014 is not looking great at the moment. Solicitation for panel nominations will be distributed in early November, and they will be due at the end of TRB week in January.
ACRP panels being formed for about 25 FY2014 new projects. First panel meetings will be held from early November through to January.
Projects are still active in the Freight, Rail, and Hazardous Materials programs. There is still hope that funding for the rail program will be included in the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act reauthorization.
Publications since the last conference call:
· NCHRP Report 738: Evaluating Pavement Strategies and Barriers for Noise Mitigation (http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/169200.aspx)
· NCHRP Report 755: Comprehensive Costs of Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Crashes (http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/169061.aspx)
· TCRP Report 162: Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry—A Systems Approach (http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/169592.aspx)
· TCRP Synthesis 108: Transit Bus Operator Distraction Policies (URL Available Soon)
· TCRP Web-Only Document 61: Millennials and Mobility: Understanding the Millennial Mindset and New Opportunities for Transit Providers (http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/169527.aspx)
· NCFRP Report 26: Guidebook for Developing Subnational Commodity Flow Data (http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/169330.aspx)
6. RITA Report – Tim Klein
· UTC Competition
o Selections released on September 26– 33 grantees; 117 participating colleges and universities
(http://www.rita.dot.gov/utc/about/grant_recipients/html/2013_competition_selections.html
o Two regional UTCs to be recompeted this fall [on hold]
§ Region III: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
§ Region X: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
§ “We did not receive any eligible applications that were recommended for funding in those regions. We will recompete Regions 3 and 10 this fall.”
· DOT Five-Year Research, Development and Technology (RD&T) Strategic Plan
o Published online only on September 30: http://www.rita.dot.gov/rdt/sites/rita.dot.gov.rdt/files/rdt_strategic_plan_2013.pdf
· Public Meeting to Seek Comments on Connected Vehicle Applications for Speed Harmonization with Queue Warning
o Two-day public meeting to seek stakeholder input on the Intelligent Network Flow Optimization (INFLO) bundle of applications. The purpose of the INFLO effort is to develop a prototype of dynamic speed harmonization with queue warning and conduct a small-scale demonstration or a controlled environment test of the prototype.
o October 22-23, 2013, in Romulus, MI; webinar available.
o http://www.its.dot.gov/meetings/traffic_mang_meeting2013.htm.
· T3 Webinar: Using ITS to Increase the Effectiveness of Your Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Program
· This webinar will discuss using ITS technology to enhance their Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Programs. Challenges, successes, and future direction of ITS integration with TIM Programs; and sharing various ideas on how performance measures can help improve a TIM program will be discussed.
· Includes speakers from Minnesota and Virginia DOTs.
· October 30; 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EST
· http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/t3/s131030_tim.asp
· New Volpe Speaker Series: Transportation System Resilience, Extreme Weather, and Climate Change
o Volpe's newest speaker series will feature thought leaders and Volpe experts in one-of-a-kind dialogs that are open to the transportation community and the public at-large.
o Sessions/schedule posted at: http://www.volpe.dot.gov/coi/outreach/systemresilience/.
7. FHWA Report – John Moulden
The Office of Safety R&D has initiated development of a support enclave for safety data analysis of the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study. They are now fleshing out the range of products and services to be offered.
Leni Oman asked about the status of funds transferred from the old to the new Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) system – has it been completed and can states begin to close out completed projects and get them off their books? John Moulden will look into it and send information to all RAC members. David Jared asked if there was any news on the planned new SPR Part 2 guide. Leslie Wright has begun work on it; John will get more information but it is not imminent.
FHWA is making a greater effort to support and engage their division research coordinators. They are working with NHI to develop a “Research 101” course to help them be better informed on state and federal research activities.
8. SHRP2 Implementation Activities – Neil Pedersen
Mr. Pedersen presented status reports in each of the four SHRP 2 program areas.
Safety – The field data collection is starting to wind down and will likely finish sometime in November. They are now working on quality control of the databases, which they hope to be available by next April. They are also working on developing reduced data sets for specific research topics. Jim McDonnell – AASHTO is working with FHWA to identify specific reduced data sets that could be used to develop countermeasures for inclusion in AASHTO safety manuals. TRB will continue to have stewardship over the NDS database for the next five years. FHWA is planning a “Safety Data Enclave” to provide consulting advice to state DOTs on research analysis using the database. Neil – AASHTO has come up with the name “Concept to Countermeasures” for this initiative.
Reliability – The basic research is winding down and products are being released. There are several activities to convert the research results into usable tools; many of these are IT-based. The analytical tools are being pilot tested in four state DOTs to analyze and make decisions in the planning process.
Capacity – Additional pilot testing is underway for several tools, including TCAPP. AASHTO organized workshops on TCAPP this past spring for 34 DOTs. As a result of these workshops, FHWA is contracting to make a number of improvements to the tool. They will also take over ownership of the tool starting next summer, probably under a new name.
Renewal – Almost all of the research will be wrapping up by December 31st. Many of the renewal products are ready to implement and will be a big part of future implementation assistance solicitations.
FHWA has come out with two rounds of solicitation for the implementation assistance program; the latest awards will be announced next week at the AASHTO meeting. A third round will be announced the same week, with proposals be due in February. A fourth round will be announced in June.
David Jared – Some states in Region 2 feel that many of the SHRP 2 products are somewhat vague. Many of the tools are not simple technological enhancements but require programmatic changes before they can be implemented. Others seem more suitable for urban settings than rural. Neil Pedersen offered to participate in the next Region 2 conference call to respond to these concerns. As for the products being more programmatic, this is absolutely correct; direction from the SHRP 2 Oversight Committee was to focus on process improvements, not simply technology. On the rural vs urban issue, Mr. Pedersen has heard these comments before, particularly on the capacity and reliability programs, but believes that they are misconceptions. He is happy to follow-up with states that have made these comments.
9. Region Chairs/Vice-Chairs Issues
David Jared outlined some membership changes in Region 2. Jason Siwula is the new Research Coordinator for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, and replaces Amy Thomas as Kentucky’s third RAC member. Tanisha Hall (TDOT); Long-Range Planning Director is currently serving as interim Research Director, pending replacement of Sandi Hoff (left TDOT). Mike Pumphrey joins Donny Williams as WVDOT’s second RAC member. Elisha Wright-Kehner is still on active duty. Sarah Tamayo of her staff is covering her duties in her absence (). Anyone that would like to contact Elisha can do so at
Several studies from the Southeast Transportation Research Consortium are about to be released, including four synthesis reports, one of which deals with the value of research. The Consortium has selected four more topics for synthesis studies, and may conduct additional follow-up research on the first four.
Mr. Jared has tried to make contact with staff at the Puerto Rico DOT several times but to date has been unsuccessful. Skip Paul noted that two people from Puerto Rico attended the recent SASHTO meeting; he will try to contact them and ask for a contact in their research program.
Cameron Kergaye – Region 4 is trying to narrow down locations for the 2015 summer RAC meeting.
Skip asked if how many regions plan to meet in January. Region 2 will meet Monday over dinner. Region 3 will meet Sunday afternoon before RAC meeting. Chris Jenks will confirm meeting locations when they are available in about a week’s time.
10. Summer 2013 RAC/TRB meeting wrap-up
No further reports.
11. Summer 2014 RAC/TRB meeting, Madison, WI, July 20-24
Amy Schutzbach emailed a number of suggested themes for the 2014 meeting and Tommy Nantung reviewed the alternatives. There was general support for "Moving Forward from Performance Measures to Program Management".
Meetings have been held with AASHTO meeting staff, discussing room requirements. The organizing team is planning to invite CEOs from Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, and Michigan to attend the opening session.
Sponsorship levels and possible evening events are being explored and recommendations will be presented to the RAC leadership for approval.
RAC Winter Meeting
Skip Paul briefly reviewed the recommendations from the Task Force on Administration, distributed for discussion at the previous meeting. Planning needs to begin soon and Skip asked for volunteers to help organize the session. Steve Pepin offered to lead a Q&A session with representatives from the national organizations, e.g. FHWA, DOT, TRB, RITA, and AASHTO. Skip will invite SCOR members to attend during their meeting in December.
12. Task Force Updates – Dale Peabody
Administration – Allison Hardt
A Subcommittee led by Cynthia Gerst looking at the SCOR/RAC website has been very active. Allison informed the Officers that there will be a change in how meeting notes are presented on the site. Links will be provided from both Task Force pages and meetings pages. Work has begun on the RAC 101 update and development of new materials for the mentoring program.
Coordination and Collaboration – Ann Ellis
The next conference call will be in December. A contract has been executed to migrate the RPPM website to the AASHTO server and work is now underway.
Program Management and Qualiy – David Jared
The last conference call was held Sept 19th. Since the summer meeting, four new members from region 4 and two friends from region 3 have joined the Task Force. A subgroup on NCHRP implementation is working with Pat Casey and a presentation on the work will be featured on the SCOR agenda in December. SAIC has been given a two-year contract extension to manage the Research Performance Measures (RPM) website. A draft final report for NCHRP Project 20-99 dealing with Intellectual Property issues is under review; it has been sent back to the research team with a lot of comments. The contract has been extended for six months to provide for the revisions needed. If and when the quality is acceptable, Skip will send the report to PM&Q for comment. A workshop on the “Ahead of the Curve” initiative will be held Thursday morning during TRB week and is open to everyone. Cynthia reported that they are encouraging a diverse group of people to participate. Skip Paul suggested inviting both new and experienced research managers to provide a good balance. PM&Q is revisiting two older reports on the Peer Exchange program and considering seeking funding for Barbara Harder to produce an update. Finally, there was a session in Baton Rouge on successful research program. If this continues at future RAC meetings they will target some smaller programs next time.
Value of Research – Mark Morvant
The Sweet 16 report has been finalized and distributed. Four of the projects will be included in a lectern session at TRB sponsored by the Conduct of Research committee; 11 more will be featured in a poster session. The Task Force will be meeting at TRB, probably on Tuesday or Wednesday from late afternoon into the evening. Finally, they are reviewing the Research Impacts submissions to develop some additional focused brochures.
TKN – Leni Oman.
No report
Next Conference Call: Thursday,November 14,2013
RAC Officers October 10, 2013 1