Ahead of the Curve - Migration from NCHRP to AASHTO Technical Training Solutions (TTS)
In 2011, raising the profile and stature of transportation research became a major theme during meetings of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Technical Activities Council, the TRB standing committees on Conduct of Research and Technology Transfer, and the summer meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Research Advisory Committee (RAC)/TRB state representatives. It quickly became established that a standardization of transportation research management was needed. Discussions among TRB staff and volunteers led to recommend a program that in 2012 that came to be known as “Ahead of the Curve (AOTC) Mastering the Management of Transportation Research and Innovation.” The mission of the initiative was ‘to develop and deliver a TRB program that enhances the knowledge, skills and abilities of managers of transportation research programs and those responsible for innovation in a coordinated manner and on a continuing basis. An article in the January-February 2020 issue of TR News describes the evolution and benefits of this program. The AOTC Program is comprised of four required core courses that are built upon the research cycle and twelve more subject detailed electives presented through webinar format. The list of the required core courses and descriptions comprises: 1) Making Research Relevant – This is an overview course designed to provide basic understanding of the importance and value of research, types of research, the research life cycle, stakeholders typically involved in transportation research, i.e. state departments of transportation (DOTS) and universities). 2) Running a Research Program – This course provides students with the nuts and bolts of how to run a transportation research program. Student will learn about establishing and facilitating oversight committees, soliciting research ideas, managing deliverables, tracking and monitoring the program, working with principal investigators, reviewing proposals, contracting, research results and dissemination. 3) Delivering the Program – This course will provide basic understanding of technology transfer and methods of delivery, assessing the return on investment (ROI) and performance measurement for research projects and programs, and how to effectively communicate the benefits of research projects and programs to different stakeholders. 4) Quality Improvement – Students will learn about quality assurance, quality control fundamentals, strategic planning to determine what they want to achieve, how to evaluate the research program, project monitoring practices, and measuring and analyzing stakeholder feedback. Over the course of the next four to five years, the introductory course and four core courses were delivered in a face-to-face format and four elective courses were delivered in a virtual format. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) funding ceased at this time and the courses have sat dormant since 2019 leading to the current state where the courses exist, but no mechanism exists to have them be taught. A survey conducted at the AASHTO RAC meeting in 2023 indicated that more than half the states in attendance would support a pooled fund effort to move the AOTC material to AASHTO Technical Training Solutions (TTS) with the remaining attendees would probably support the effort, but need additional approval from their respective agencies first. AASHTO has agreed to work with the pooled fund study Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and chosen contractor to ensure quality control and acceptance of the AOTC course material into the AASHTO TTS program. With these courses available in the AASHTO TTC program, member states research offices, and other staff as necessary, will have easy access to the entire AOTC program in an on-demand format. Note that since these courses were all developed over ten (10) years ago, a significant effort will be made during the course of this pooled fund effort to properly update all core and elective course materials with the most recent changes in CFR as well as incorporate the most up-to-date best practices for implementation, project management, etc. developed between 2012 and 2024. The major benefit of this study will be to provide a self-study version of AOTC for AASHTO RAC members / State DOT research personnel. This is important in that these RAC members are continually changing and a self-study format will provide the best opportunity for these members to get “Ahead of the learning Curve” when taking on the unique responsibilities of being a research manager. A secondary benefit will be a comprehensive, up-to-date resource for new and existing research managers with state DOTs. OBJECTIVES: The primary objectives of this pooled fund study are as follows: Transfer AOTC information from NCHRP to AASHTO; Update and transfer existing information into AASHTO Technical Training Solutions (TTS) format; Make all courses 508 compliant.
- Record URL:
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Programmed
- Funding: $520,000.00
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Contract Numbers:
TPF-5(536)
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Sponsor Organizations:
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities
Research Development & Technology Transfer
3132 Channel Dr
Juneau, AK United StatesColorado Department of Transportation
2829 W. Howard Place
Denver, CO United States 80204Georgia Department of Transportation
600 West Peachtree St
Atlanta, GA United States 30308Idaho Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 7129
3311 W. State Street
Boise, ID United States 83707-1129Kansas Department of Transportation
Eisenhower State Office Building
700 SW Harrison Street
Topeka, KS United States 66603-3754Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
P.O. Box 94245
1201 Capitol Access Road
Baton Rouge, LA United States 70804-9245Maine Department of Transportation
16 Statehouse Station
Augusta, ME United States 04333Mississippi Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 1850
Jackson, MS United States 39215-1850Missouri Department of Transportation
1617 Missouri Blvd.
P.O. Box 270
Jefferson City, MO United States 65102Montana Department of Transportation
2701 Prospect Avenue
P.O. Box 201001
Helena, MT United States 59620-1001New Hampshire Department of Transportation
John O. Morton Building
P.O. Box 483
Concord, NH United States 03302-0483Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Keystone Building
400 North Street
Harrisburg, PA United States 17120Texas Department of Transportation
125 E. 11th Street
Austin, TX United States 78701-2483Utah Department of Transportation
4501 South 2700 West
Project Development
Salt Lake City, UT United States 84114-8380Vermont Agency of Transportation
1 National Life Drive
Drawer 33
Montpelier, VT United States 5633Virginia Department of Transportation
1408 E Broad Street
Richmond, VA United States 23219Washington State Department of Transportation
Transportation Building
Olympia, WA United States 98504Wisconsin Department of Transportation
PO Box 7910
4802 Sheboygan Avenue, Room 104
Madison, WI United States 53707-7910South Carolina Department of Transportation
955 Park Street
P.O. Box 191
Columbia, SC United States 29202-0191North Carolina Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 25201
1 South Wilmington Street
Raleigh, NC United States 27611New York State Department of Transportation
50 Wolf Road
Albany, NY United States 12232New Jersey Department of Transportation
1035 Parkway Avenue
Trenton, NJ United States 08625Nevada Department of Transportation
1263 South Stewart Street
Carson City, NV United States 89712Florida Department of Transportation
Research Center
605 Suwannee Street MS-30
Tallahassee, FL United States 32399-0450District of Columbia Department of Transportation
55 M Street, SE, Suite 500
Washington, DC United States 20009Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration
707 N. Calvert Street
Baltimore, MD United States 21202 - Managing Organizations: Baton Rouge, LA United States
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Project Managers:
Rupnow, Tyson
- Start Date: 20250103
- Expected Completion Date: 0
- Actual Completion Date: 0
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Education and training; Knowledge management; Quality assurance; Research management; Technology transfer; Transportation
- Subject Areas: Education and Training; Research; Transportation (General);
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01922763
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
- Contract Numbers: TPF-5(536)
- Files: RIP, USDOT, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Jun 26 2024 9:49AM