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Implementing Transportation Knowledge Networks (NCHRP 20-75)

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About the Study

TRB Special Report 284, Transportation Knowledge Networks: A Management Strategy for the 21st Century was published in 2006. This National Research Council policy study is the most recent of a series of studies focusing on the importance of managing information related to the transportation sector. The study was a direct follow-up to NCHRP Project 20-07(142), Scoping Study for a National Strategic Plan for Transportation Information Management, a report on the findings of this study was released in 2003. The scoping study was conducted in response to a resolution from the AASHTO Research Advisory Committee, which recognized the importance of access to information and made recommendations to address deficiencies in the networks, funding, and expertise needed to make that information available in a timely and efficient manner.

The study that produced Special Report 284 was to provide strategic advice to the federal government and the states regarding a sustainable administrative structure and funding mechanism for meeting the information services needs of the transportation sector. The report made a number of recommendations for the governance, organizational structure, and funding mechanisms needed to implement transportation knowledge networks nationally. It is clear that secure, sustainable funding will be key to the success of this effort, along with strong national leadership and commitment from those who will champion the implementation of transportation knowledge networks across the country.

A concerted effort is needed to begin implementing the recommendations of the study. This NCHRP project will serve as a first step in what will be a long-term effort to gain increased efficiencies, cost savings, and quality through better management of transportation information. The objective of the research is to initiate the implementation of transportation knowledge networks in the United States.

Transportation Knowledge Networks: Shaping the Future of Transportation Information Access

In response to recommendations of a recent TRB Policy Study (Special Report 284) sponsored by the AASHTO Standing Committee on Research, the National Highway Cooperative Research Program (NCHRP) Project 20-75 is developing a business plan for Transportation Knowledge Networks (TKNs). TKNs seek to improve how transportation organizations access and share information—utilizing new institutional arrangements and current technology.

The Problem

Information Overload – Too much information is available for us to absorb and easily find what we need when we need it. This is a problem that is not unique to transportation, but it is one that can be most effectively addressed by information services tailored to a specific domain area—for example, targeted Web sites and RSS feeds, specialized search engines, and information digests.

Lost Opportunities for Efficiency and Innovation – We don’t have the time to find the information that can help us do things better, faster and cheaper. One agency’s success—if documented, shared, and discovered—can produce substantial benefits for peer agencies. It takes collective effort and commitment to make sure that this kind of information is available in a discoverable and useful form. Without convenient access to information about past experience and current research, significant opportunity costs are incurred.

Brain Drain – Experienced, career employees are retiring or changing jobs, leaving a knowledge void. Increasing opportunities for networking beyond our organizations with peers, and providing access to shared knowledge banks can fill some of this void.

Under-Investment in Transportation Information Infrastructure – Funding for transportation libraries as the backbone of the information infrastructre has been dwindling as the paradigm for information access has shifted from physical libraries to the Web. National leadership and commitment of resources to build and sustain a modern transportation information infrastructure has been lacking. The result is that the transportation sector has only a very basic level of information access that does not meet the needs and expectations of today’s information consumer.

The Vision

In 2005, the AASHTO Standing Committee on Research (SCOR) asked TRB to undertake a policy study to develop a strategy for improving access to transportation information that would take transportation libraries into the 21st century. The study committee, a distinguished group of transportation research leaders, envisioned a transition from “centralized and managed physical collections” to decentralized “Transportation Knowledge Networks” (TKNs) that “provide information services to users wherever they reside.” Based on successful models from the health and agriculture fields, TKNs would involve both institutional arrangements for resource sharing and coordination across existing libraries and information providers, and technological solutions that provide end users with targeted, “on demand” information access at their desktops. The committee’s findings and recommendations are documented in TRB Special Report 284.

The recommendations of TRB Special Report 284 are intended to achieve the following:

Strong national leadership and support - a strong National Transportation Library that provides leadership and support for preservation and sharing of transportation information.

Taking transportation information access to the next level - A new generation of services and tools for finding and accessing transportation information from a variety of sources and in a variety of formats (documents, plans, maps, photos, videos).

Knowledge Networks providing an efficient and customer focused approach - Transportation Knowledge Networks—consisting of state DOTs, Federal Agencies, MPOs, Regional Agencies, transit providers, academic institutions, professional associations, and engineering/planning/consulting firms—pool resources and collaborate to improve information access based on their collective customer needs. They pursue targeted information sharing initiatives that result in productivity improvements and cost savings. They provide expanded opportunities for informal knowledge sharing across organizations.