ABOUT THE OTS AND OIPD UNITS

Knowledge Management (KM)

The Knowledge Management (KM) unit is organized around two key dimensions of knowledge management: connecting people, and leveraging the tools and processes that facilitate those connections. The KM unit leads the agency’s efforts in key knowledge sharing activities, including those related to the Discipline Support System (DSS). KM’s mission is to promote a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing among FHWA employees, making it easier for them to do their jobs. Never was this mission more important than in 2020, when FHWA began operating in a virtual environment. The KM team met this challenge head on, adjusting course as needed to deliver its ongoing discipline-based programs, but also jumping in to support the entire agency’s workforce with tools to help them adapt to their changing work environment.

KM Director: Carin Michel
For more information, visit https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/km/

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National Highway Institute (NHI)

As the training and education arm of FHWA, the National Highway Institute (NHI) has a rich history of developing and delivering innovative and industry-leading transportation training. NHI ensures the nation’s transportation professionals remain at the forefront of their chosen disciplines and helps to safeguard the country’s infrastructure as a national asset. NHI’s technical training is developed in collaboration with FHWA’s Resource Center, program offices, State DOTs, local agencies, and industry partners, which encourages nationwide application of state-of-the-practice techniques. NHI offers nearly 400 instructor-led, web-conference, and web-based trainings (WBTs), and their portfolio of training products covers a wide variety of transportation-related program areas ranging from asset management and structures to intelligent transportation systems and highway safety.

Acting NHI Director: Tom Harman
For more information, visit https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/home.aspx.

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Resource Center (RC)

The vision of the Resource Center is to shape the future by bringing innovative solutions to create the best transportation system in the world. For more than 20 years, the RC has been delivering world-class expertise and innovative solutions to advance the Nation’s transportation system through training, technical assistance, technology deployment, and partnerships.

Acting RC Director: Lisa Hanf
For more information, visit: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter

Center for Accelerating Innovation (CAI)

FHWA established the Center for Accelerating Innovation (CAI) to serve as the focal point for internal and external coordination to identify and prioritize innovations. The Every Day Counts (EDC) program provides an “On-Ramp to Innovation” by developing, launching, and administering strategic innovation deployment throughout the country. FHWA works with stakeholders to identify a new collection of proven yet underutilized innovations every two years. CAI fosters collaboration between stakeholders within the transportation community through the State Transportation Innovation Councils (STIC) network. The STIC is a national network that brings together public and private transportation stakeholders to evaluate innovations and spearhead their deployment in each State.

Acting CAI Director: Jeff Zaharewicz
For more information, visit https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/

Center for Local Aid Support (CLAS)

Agencies across the country are facing the same challenges: revenues are falling and budgets are shrinking. Transportation officials have ambitious goals, including improving safety and reliability, enhancing economic opportunity, preserving system assets, accelerating project delivery, and helping to create healthier, more livable neighborhoods.

The Center for Local Aid Support (CLAS) connects with local, Tribal and Federal Land Management Agency transportation networks to provide national leadership in the advancement of innovative technologies and practices. The Center is focused on the creation of an informed and ambitious workforce and promotes the integration of cutting-edge-solutions to deliver real results that enhance our nation’s transportation system. Our programs are designed to implement solid policy foundations, provide models for other agencies, and inform the federal transportation discussion.

CLAS collaborates with a Nationwide, diverse mix of partners in the delivery of these services via two programs: Local Technical Assistance Program and Tribal Technical Assistance Program.

Director, Center for Local Aid Support: Joe Conway
For more information, visit https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/clas/

Center for Transportation Workforce Development (CTWD)

The Center for Transportation Workforce Development (CTWD) provides national leadership, coordination, and assistance that supports initiatives to develop and expand the nation’s transportation workforce. From early education through ongoing professional development, the center provides program support, technical assistance, and workforce development activities in partnership with Federal, State, and local agencies, industry organizations, schools, colleges and universities, and other education providers. The center’s efforts are critical to attracting, retaining, and advancing the transportation workforce in the face of retirement, competition from other industries, and new technologies.

Programs seek to build awareness and interest in transportation career options; promote an understanding of how they positively impact our mobility, safety, and economic opportunity; and encourage professionals to take next steps in their careers through skills acquisition and enhancement. Many programs place a particular emphasis on reaching women, minorities, and other disadvantaged groups. Those programs include: Highway Construction Workforce Partnership, On-the-Job Training Supportive Services Program, Garrett A. Morgan Transportation Technology Education Program, National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI), and Transportation Education Development Program (formerly the Regional Transportation Workforce Centers.)

CTWD Director: Karen Bobo
For more information, visit https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovativeprograms/centers/workforce_dev/