Reaping the Benefits of Attending the TRB Annual Meeting: Utah Department of Transportation’s Practical, Systematic Model

A featured article in the November-December 2009 issue of the TR News explores the Utah Department of Transportation's (DOT’s) formal process to document the benefits of sending its personnel to the TRB Annual Meeting. With the help of Utah DOT’s research director, the article describes the process used to track and guide the implementation of the innovative and cost-saving ideas brought back from the Annual Meeting. The article also presents two case studies.

In addition to the article, the National Academies has released a podcast, as part of its Sounds of Science series, that highlights a process the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) uses that has allowed the Department to realize more than $3.8 million in savings for every UDOT employee who has attended a TRB Annual Meeting since 2003.