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InTrans / Apr 13, 2016

Focus on implementation: Getting research results off the shelf and into the field

The Midwest Transportation Center (MTC) at Iowa State University has initiated an ambitious new program to help accelerate the implementation of promising research results. The new Transportation Research Implementation Initiative is using a three-pronged approach to provide timely information and training about implementation-ready research:

  • Workshops
  • Webinars
  • Technical briefs (“impact statements”)

On November 5, 2015, together with the Iowa DOT’s Iowa Highway Research Board, the MTC sponsored its first workshop under this initiative. Personnel from the Iowa DOT and several Iowa counties learned about implementable research findings in three areas that are especially important in Iowa: modified sheet pile abutments for low-volume bridges, geosynthetic-reinforced soil for low-volume bridge abutments, and low-cost rural surface alternatives. Attendees also discussed helpful ways that researchers can share their results with practitioners and decision makers.

In spring 2016, partnering with the Roadway Safety Institute at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, the MTC scheduled four webinars focused on roadway safety:

February 16, 2016
Safety Benefits of the Safety Edge

March 22, 2016
Evaluation of Safety and Mobility of Two-Lane Roundabouts

April 19, 2016
Rural Speed Management for Small Rural Communities

May 10, 2016
Computerized Crash Reports Usability and Design Investigation

Several impact statements, each focusing on unique research innovations or findings, are in the works to be broadly distributed to appropriate agency personnel. The statements will be linked from this location as they are completed.

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