RAC Guide for New Members
First things first …
Your agency’s CEO should inform AASHTO when you are newly appointed to RAC. That makes your membership “official” and will get you onto the RAC Roster, and the regional and national listservs. You’ll know your appointment has been confirmed when you receive a letter of welcome from the RAC Secretary.
What is RAC and what do we do?
The Research Advisory Committee (RAC) to the AASHTO Standing Committee on Research (SCOR) supports the activities of SCOR and is committed to being a proactive committee promoting quality and excellence in research and in the application of research findings to improve state transportation systems. Each AASHTO Member Department is represented on RAC.
RAC responsibilities specifically identified by SCOR include the following:
• Work with the AASHTO Member Departments to facilitate the development of research problem statements for consideration by SCOR and incorporation into the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP).
• Participate in rating NCHRP problem statements each year and provide the results to SCOR for its annual selection procedure.
• Undertake an organized program to identify ongoing and planned state-controlled research being sponsored by Member Departments.
• Provide advice and recommendations on transportation research matters to SCOR.
• Serve as a resource to Member Department research managers regarding the conduct of research and technology transfer activities.
• Be an advocate for transportation research by promoting the value of research, the implementation of research results, the transfer of new technologies, and the benefits of peer exchanges.
Aside from their activities on a national level, RAC members usually work closely with other members in the same AASHTO region on issues affecting them directly.
The business of RAC is guided by a set of operating guidelines.
Back in the day …
The concept of RAC was developed during a meeting of the Task Force on AASHTO Organization which met during the summer of 1987. Shortly following this meeting, at its 1987 Annual Meeting, AASHTO established the Standing Committee on Research (SCOR) to replace the then operating Select Committee on Research. A feature of the new SCOR was the charge:
"The Standing Committee shall also have a Research Advisory Committee, and each Member Department shall be entitled to representation thereon. The President of the Association shall designate a Chairman and Vice Chairman for the Research Advisory Committee."
Considering SCOR was organized to have representatives from 16 Member Departments, and not all 52, the creation of RAC provided a forum for representatives of research activities from all Member Departments.
In creating RAC, it was AASHTO's intention to have RAC facilitate SCOR's work.
How does RAC work?
RAC is governed by a leadership board comprised of the national and regional chairs and vice chairs, as well as ex officio members from TRB, AASHTO, FHWA, RITA and other key stakeholder groups. The RAC leadership board conducts the daily business of RAC.
Much of the volunteer work of RAC takes place within its task forces. The task forces were formed in the summer of 2006 in order to divide RAC’s efforts among a number of topic areas. The current structure includes task forces dealing with:
• RAC Administration
• Value of Research
• Research Funding
• Research Coordination and Collaboration
• Program Management and Quality
• Future Needs
• Peer Exchange
• Transportation Knowledge Networks
The activities and accomplishments of the task forces are reported regularly on the website. Each AASHTO region is represented on every task force.
When does RAC Meet?
RAC meets twice a year as a full committee. A three hour meeting during the TRB annual meeting provides an opportunity to report out on its activities and current issues. A longer (typically four days) meeting takes place in the summer, hosted by one of the four RAC regions in rotating order.
In addition to the full meetings, RAC members also hold regular conference calls with others in their respective AASHTO regions. Minutes from these meetings and conference calls are posted on the RAC website.
The RAC Officers and task force members also hold regular conference call meetings. Minutes from these meetings and conference calls are also posted on the RAC website, categorized by the individual task force.
How can RAC membership help me?
RAC membership brings with it a wealth of resources that can help you do your job as a research manager. The most valuable asset may be the contacts you make with other RAC members and transportation professionals.
A number of resources are available through the RAC/SCOR website. These include:
Lists of contacts in other agencies and organizations you’ll be dealing with.
A map with links to the research branch websites in all state DOTs.
Information about the State Planning and Research (SP&R) program – the main source of your research budget. The current highway act requires that States set aside 2 percent of the apportionments they receive from the Federal Aid Highway program for planning and research activities. Of this amount, States must allocate a minimum of 25 percent for research, development, and technology (RD&T). RD&T activities involve research on new areas of knowledge; adapting findings to practical applications by developing new technologies; and the transfer of these technologies, including the process of dissemination, demonstration, training, and adoption of innovations by users.
How to access the latest research findings, publications, and research in progress. The Transportation Research Information Service (TRIS) is an online bibliographic database containing over half a million records of published transportation research including technical reports, books, conference proceedings and journal articles. The Research in Progress (RiP) database allows State Departments of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and University Transportation Centers to submit and search for information on active research projects. The RiP database now contains over 12,000 records.
Federal legislation that governs the work you do, including the current highway bill.
How to conduct a peer exchange. During the peer exchange, you and your staff will convene a meeting with their peers from other agencies to exchange ideas on topics selected by the host. A periodic peer exchange is required by federal legislation and provides a valuable tool for a state to evaluate improve the quality and effectiveness of its research management processes.
Information about the TRB cooperative research programs in highways, transit, airports, freight, and hazardous materials. In particular, the NCHRP is AASHTO’s research program and was developed to address the day to day research needs of state transportation departments.
How to develop a research manual for your state.
How to conduct research with sound scientific methods.
Knowing what to do when – a model calendar for transportation research managers.
Ways to understand and communicate the value of research.
Straining the alphabet soup – who are all these guys?
If you are new to transportation research, you may well be getting overwhelmed by the number of acronyms and abbreviations you are faced with. Don’t worry – this will become second nature in no time. In the meantime, check out the list of acronyms on the site.
Some of the most common entities you’ll be dealing with are as follows:
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is the parent organization of RAC. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing highway and transportation departments in the United States. Its primary goal is to foster the development, operation, and maintenance of an integrated national transportation system.
The Transportation Research Board (TRB), like AASHTO, is a not-for-profit association, not a government branch. Unlike AASHTO, its members include private sector and academia, as well as public sector members. The mission of TRB is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. TRB provides an extensive portfolio of services, including opportunities for information exchange on current transportation research and practice, management of cooperative research and other research programs, analyses of national transportation policy issues and guidance on federal and other research programs, and publications and access to research information from around the world. TRB is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council, which serves as an independent adviser to the federal government and others on scientific and technical questions of national importance. The NRC is the operating arm of the National Academies comprised of the National Academy of Science, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine.
TRB is composed of five divisions of which Technical Activities, Cooperative Research Programs and Strategic Highway Research Program 2 should hold the most interest for RAC members.
The Technical Activities division supports over 200 technical committees composed of volunteer transportation professionals. These committees are responsible for technology transfer activities and the development of research needs. The most visible activity of this division is the TRB Annual Meeting, usually held the second week of January each year.
The Cooperative Research Programs division currently administers five cooperative programs. The National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) is of considerable interest and importance to RAC members. NCHRP is AASHTO’s research program. It is funded by a 5.5% take down of the 2% SP&R funding. Additionally, there are cooperative programs in transit, airports, freight and hazardous materials funded through other mechanisms.
The second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) was authorized by Congress in 2005 to investigate the underlying causes of highway crashes and congestion in a short-term program of focused research. To carry out that investigation, SHRP 2 targets goals in four interrelated focus areas: safety, renewal, reliability, and capacity. The legislation directed that TRB administer this program.
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a major agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). FHWA is charged with the broad responsibility of ensuring that America’s roads and highways continue to be the safest and most technologically up-to-date. Although State, local, and tribal governments own most of the Nation’s highways, FHWA provides financial and technical support to them for constructing, improving, and preserving America’s highway system.
University Transportation Centers (UTCs) were initiated in 1987 under the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act and continued in subsequent legislation. More than 60 centers are currently funded to improve transportation research and education in the US and to strengthen the country's competitiveness in the global transportation industry. The UTC program is managed by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation. RITA coordinates the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) research programs and is charged with advancing the deployment of cross-cutting technologies to improve the nation’s transportation system. Aside from the coordination role, RITA is responsible for a number of important information programs, such as the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) and the National Transportation Library (NTL).
The Transportation Pooled Fund Program (TPF) allows state DOTs to combine their resources and achieve common research goals in solving transportation-related problems, including research, planning, and technology transfer activities. Pooling resources reduces marginal costs, provides efficient use of taxpayer dollars, and delivers greater benefits to participants than they might otherwise be able to achieve by performing the work on their own.
What are my responsibilities as a RAC member?
Once you get settled in as a RAC member, you will be able to contribute to the body of knowledge and help RAC achieve its mission and goals.
As RAC member, you are responsible for submitting information about your DOTs research work to the TRIS and Research in Progress databases.
One of the main benefits of RAC membership is being able to help steer the nation’s research agenda through participation in national research programs such as the NCHRP. You can submit problem statements, provide review comments and rankings on all problem statements submitted, and serve on project panels to help guide the work.
If you receive a survey through the RAC listserv, please take the time to have it completed by the right people in your DOT.
To really help with the day to day work of RAC, consider joining one of the task forces as a member or friend.
I’ve got a lot more questions…
First, take a look at the Frequently Asked Questions on this web site.
View the RAC 101 powerpoint presentation.
The listserv is a great way to contact all RAC members.
Many RAC members use the listserv frequently to survey the current state of practice in a given subject area. The results will be posted on the website for others to benefit.
Always feel free to contact another RAC member in a nearby state or across the country. You’ll find everyone is willing to help.
In Closing …
We hope this brief introduction to RAC was helpful to you. Please feel free to contact the Webmaster or the RAC Secretary if we can be of any further assistance to you.