Message from the Managing Director

As the June Workforce Development Summit organized by NOCoE nears, our research and planning has helped set the context for what we hope is a meaningful dialogue among participants to establish a strategic direction for the TSM&O community to address its workforce needs.

The first of three white papers prepared for the Summit, notes:

Over the last several years, research conducted by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program and the Transportation Research Board’s Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) program -- together with a set of state DOT “Capability Maturity” workshops and forums sponsored by FHWA and the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) -- has brought about an understanding of the challenges facing the evolution of more effective TSM&O.
 
In more than 50 state workshops and seven Regional Operations Forums, key state DOT TSM&O managers and staff (and often their Public Safety Agency and Metropolitan Planning Organization partners) evaluated their state’s or region’s current capabilities in several dimensions related to business and technical processes and institutional readiness, including organization and staffing. This evaluation has established a clear picture of the state-of-the practice within state DOTs and partner agencies regarding capabilities for continuous improvement of effective TSM&O. Please click here to read more.

Call for Feedback: Arizona Regional TIM Summit

By Shane Trimmer, NOCoE 

In December 2015, The Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona Department of Public Safety, and the Maricopa County Department of Transportation hosted a Regional Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Summit in Phoenix, Arizona. This event was sponsored by the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) along with the Arizona Council for Transportation Innovation and Federal Highway Administration.

The Summit organizers have released their official summary of the event, highlighting the importance of the TIM Summit, topics, participant discussions, outcomes, as well as action items. The summary can be found in NOCoE’s Knowledge Center, located here. A brief overview of the Summit was also shared in our January newsletter and can be viewed here. Please click here to read more. 

SHRP2 Milestones: May 2016 

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released the latest edition of its newsletter that details use of SHRP2 data.

This edition focuses on uses at universities around the United States.

FHWA plans to announce Round 2 next spring, offering universities across the country another opportunity to capitalize on the success of SHRP2.  

Upcoming Event: USDOT Partners with ITS America for Daylong Workshop on Connected Vehicles and More 

In June, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is partnering with ITS America to host an Accelerating Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Deployment Day during ITS America 2016 in San Jose, California. The free, daylong workshop will highlight the USDOT's ITS program, discuss the "nuts and bolts" of connected vehicles, provide an overview of ITS funding, and discuss the Smart City Challenge and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act. Please click here to read more.

ITE Talks Transportation: Inaugural Podcast Episode Available

The Institute of Transportation Engineers' inaugural podcast features Samuel I. Schwartz, P.E., President and CEO, Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants and author of Street Smart: The Rise of Cities and the Fall of Cars. Please click here to listen to Mr. Schwartz's perspectives on the future of transportation as a senior leader and entrepreneur in both the public and private sector.