Dear Colleague,
As a valued member of the TRB community, I wanted to update you on:
- the National Academies’ and TRB’s actions in response to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic
- TRB resources that are available to the transportation community
- TRB’s plans going forward, and
- impacts of the pandemic on TRB’s finances and staff.
COVID-19 has had a profound impact on both the transportation system and the transportation professional community. TRB’s first priority is, and always will be, the safety and health of the members of our stakeholder community, including our many thousands of volunteers and our dedicated staff.
The National Academies’ and TRB’s Actions in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine response to COVID-19
The National Academies’ Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Health Threats was assembled at the request of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The standing committee held its first meeting on March 11, during which it discussed potential research priorities arising as a result of the emergence of COVID-19 in the U.S. and globally.
Rapid expert consultations have also been provided on several topics, such as severe illness in young adults in Italy, surface stability and incubation, and social distancing. In addition to being a source of expertise to the White House and Administration, the Presidents of the National Academies have offered the expertise of the members, volunteers, and staff of the National Academies to assist Congress as they deal with the many complex policy issues that they are confronting.
TRB staff are working together with staff from other National Academies program divisions to identify issues and activities in which the Academies can offer scientific, engineering, and medical expertise and advice to the nation.
The National Academies' latest news and resources related to COVID-19, as well as consensus studies and workshop proceedings on the subject of pandemic infectious disease, can be found here.
TRB’s conferences and workshops
Once it became clear in early March, based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), that large gatherings should not be held, TRB decided not to proceed with any in-person conferences, workshops, and other events scheduled for April and May. TRB will decide on whether to reschedule these events at a later date and whether to hold in-person events scheduled after May no later than 60 days before each event’s originally scheduled start date. Decisions to hold, postpone, or cancel an in-person event will be made on the basis of safety considerations and the guidance of federal and state health and government authorities. A calendar of TRB events, including information about their current status, can be found here.
TRB committee and Cooperative Research Programs panel meetings
For smaller study and standing technical committee meetings, as well as for Cooperative Research Programs panel meetings, wherever practicable, TRB is converting these meetings to virtual formats. TRB is using virtual meeting technology that enables video conferencing when the meeting is not too large.
TRB Resources That Are Available to the Transportation Community
TRB.org
Since late January, TRB’s homepage has prominently featured information about COVID-19, the pandemic’s impact on the transportation system, and TRB resources pertinent to the crisis. An ongoing featured article, which is continually updated on the homepage (www.trb.org), includes an extensive list of TRB resources on transportation and pandemics.
TRB e-newsletter
Since late February, TRB’s weekly e-newsletter has been featuring news and resources related to COVID-19 and will continue to do so for the duration of the pandemic. Access to past e-newsletters, including a link to subscribe to the e-newsletter can be found here.
Social media postings
TRB has been proactive in posting information related to COVID-19, as well as information on TRB resources regarding pandemics and emergency response, several times a day on its Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts. This enables TRB to reach a wide audience on a much more frequent basis than through its traditional communications channels.
TRB publications and products related to pandemics and emergency management
TRB has an extensive set of Cooperative Research Programs reports related to pandemics, emergency response, and transportation system resilience. They have been produced by the airport, highway, transit, and freight cooperative research programs. Among those most relevant for the current pandemic are:
Information on how to access these reports and other TRB publications can be found here.
Transportation Research Record papers related to pandemics and emergency management
A number of salient papers on transportation and pandemics have been published in TRB’s journal, the Transportation Research Record. These papers, available without a subscription, together with links to them, can be found here.
Transportation Investments in Response to Economic Downturns
In 2014, TRB issued this National Academies consensus study report on the effect of transportation investments that have been made in response to economic downturns. The findings and advice in this report are particularly relevant as Congress considers whether and how to make transportation investments in response to the profound disruptions to the economy by the pandemic.
TRID database
TRID is an integrated database that combines the records from TRB’s Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) Database and the OECD’s Joint Transport Research Centre’s International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD) Database. TRID provides access to more than 1.25 million records of transportation research worldwide. A valuable resource for searching specific publications on topics related to COVID-19, TRID is currently featuring pandemic and communicable diseases in the context of emergencies and emergency-response-related publications on the TRID homepage.
TRB webinar on COVID-19
On March 23, TRB held a webinar, Transportation & COVID-19 – Practices from Other Disease Outbreaks, which is available to view in full for free. Its audience was the largest of any webinar that TRB has ever held. Presenters discussed their experience with other disease outbreaks; the challenges that COVID-19 has presented to their transportation systems; and how agencies are trying to prevent infections of employees and vulnerable patrons. Presenters also discussed what can be done today to enhance the resiliency of transportation systems in the face of future potential outbreaks.
Past webinars on pandemics and emergency management
TRB has held a number of previous webinars on topics related to pandemics and emergency management, including:
Recordings of past webinars can be found here.
TRB’s Plans Going Forward
TRB standing technical committees
A number of TRB committees have begun discussions on the implications of COVID-19 issues related to their committee scope, including:
- potential research that should be done
- technical sessions and workshops that could be held at the 2021 TRB Annual Meeting, and
- other meetings, webinars, or activities where the committee could contribute to the knowledge base and lessons learned from the current pandemic.
We are asking the Chairs of all groups, sections, and standing technical committees to further identify issues, activities, and potential research problem statements that might contribute to TRB’s work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Future Cooperative Research Programs projects related to COVID-19
COVID-19‘s impact on transportation and transportation agencies has raised many issues and questions that can be addressed through research. TRB staff intend to work with the oversight committees for each of the four major cooperative research programs to identify potential research topics and to develop research problem statements that can be considered when these oversight committees select projects this spring, summer, and fall. Ideas for research projects and/or draft problem statements for research projects related to COVID-19 should be submitted to any member of a CRP oversight committee, or to TRB staff members Chris Hedges, Lori Sundstrom, Gwen Chisholm-Smith, Marci Greenberger, and Bill Rogers.
The National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s oversight committee – the AASHTO Special Committee on Research and Innovation – will meet virtually on April 14 and 15.Oversight committee meetings for each of the other CRP programs are as follows:
- Transit Cooperative Research Program: June 30, 2020
- Airport Cooperative Research Program: July 23 and 24, 2020
- Behavioral Traffic Safety Research Program: June 9-10, 2020
Marine Board
The Marine Board will be meeting virtually on May 13 and 14, and members plan to discuss COVID-19’s impact on all aspects of the marine transportation system as part of their deliberations. There have already been profound impacts on international supply chains that greatly depend on the marine transportation system and the maritime workforce on vessels, at seaports, and along inland waterways. Reductions in manufacturing in the U.S. and abroad, combined with diminishing demand in consumer markets with slowing economies, have resulted in marked reductions in import and export cargo volumes. The Marine Board will be considering the near-term economic impacts, potential workforce issues, and the research needs and gaps associated with pandemic response and recovery as related to the purview of federal agency sponsors and the marine transportation and offshore industries.
Future webinars related to COVID-19
TRB will be hosting a webinar on April 8 that will explore the impacts of COVID-19 on the supply chain and logistics industries. Presenters will discuss lessons learned from past freight transportation and supply chain disruptions, identify research that has been done to address resilience in the supply chain, describe how to mitigate the economic impacts of these disruptions, and provide commentary on current supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19.
TRB is also identifying other webinar topics related to COVID-19 and is considering a new type of webinar product that will feature a single expert who can discuss a specific topic in more detail. Future webinars will be announced in the weekly TRB e-newsletter and on TRB.org.
TRB Executive Committee
TRB staff have been keeping the TRB Executive Committee informed of all TRB activities and has sought input from committee leaders on issues associate d with COVID-19. The Executive Committee’s Subcommittee on Planning and Policy Review (SPPR) will be meeting virtually on April 21 and will be discussing the status of TRB current and future activities related to COVID-19, including the possibility of a self-funded consensus policy study on the topic. A decision on whether the full Executive Committee can meet in person on June 10-11, when its next meeting is scheduled, or whether the meeting will need to be held virtually, will be made later in April.
2021 TRB Annual Meeting
We all hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will be well behind us by the next TRB Annual Meeting, scheduled for January 24 through 28, 2021. However, TRB staff are doing contingency planning in case the meeting is impacted either by travel restrictions or by continued prohibition of large gatherings. Meanwhile, planning for the 2021 Annual Meeting continues on schedule. TRB’s standing technical committees should continue to plan their sessions, workshops, and meetings with the expectation that the meeting will be held as scheduled.
Impacts of the Pandemic on TRB’s Finances and Staff
Financial impacts of COVID-19 on TRB
COVID-19 will have a financial impact on TRB. An immediate impact has been the need to postpone or cancel conferences and workshops that generate revenue and have hotel attrition fees associated with them. TRB has been able to continue its operations with reasonable continuity, even with social distancing measures in place, and expects to be able to do so for the rest of the spring and into summer. Thus, program activities are for the most part continuing without interruption, except for postponed conferences and workshops. TRB management, in consultation with Executive Committee leadership, will continue to manage TRB finances within resources available. If the pandemic continues past the summer, and particularly if it impacts the 2021 TRB Annual Meeting, there will be more profound impacts.
Impacts on TRB staff
As of March 16, all TRB and National Academies staff began teleworking. All employee travel was suspended, and the National Academies provided the resources that employees need to perform their work remotely, including planning and hosting virtual meetings. I am proud of how TRB’s staff have responded under these trying circumstances. We have continued our operations with remarkably little disruption to our work. I am confident TRB staff will continue to work effectively to support our transportation community and the functions it performs that are so vital to the nation.
I thank you for this opportunity to update you on TRB’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I applaud the manner in which TRB’s volunteers and staff, and the National Academies, have adapted to the current circumstances. Together we will get through this pandemic and come out stronger on the other side.
I trust and pray that each of you will stay safe and in good health.
Neil Pedersen, TRB Executive Director
This Summary Last Modified On: 4/8/2020