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Scope
Each committee operates within a scope approved by the Executive
Director of TRB. Changes in the name or scope of a committee
can be recommended by the committee to the section chair for action
by the Group Council. No change is effective until approved by
the Executive Director.
Correspondence and Official Communications
All Technical Activities Division units are requested to use TRB letterhead stationery
when corresponding on TRB business. A supply of this stationery
will be furnished on request. Copies of all correspondence concerning
committee and task force personnel, work assignments, and progress
must be sent to the TRB staff representative to the committee,
with a notation showing to whom copies were sent. Correspondence
to nonNorth Americans should be sent via air mail or other
means to ensure timely delivery.
Official TRB correspondence to groups or individuals outside TRB
must normally be restricted to the Executive Director acting on
authority from the Executive Committee. This is especially true
with sensitive correspondence. Sensitive correspondence is defined
as any written communication to or from members of Congress, associate
administrators or above in the executive branch, state chief administrative
officers, heads of trade associations or their equivalent, or
any correspondence with the media. Such correspondence must be
handled through TRB staff, who are required to follow special
procedures that involve the full leadership of TRB and, to the
extent necessary, the NRC. In all correspondence, committees
must exercise care to avoid the impression that the committee
is representing TRB on policy matters or that it is in any way
committing TRB to any course of action not previously approved
by the Executive Committee.
Verbal communications with officials and the media regarding TRB
reports and activities should, to the extent possible and reasonable,
be treated similarly to sensitive correspondence.
Functions
The functions of committees are to:
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Keep the members of the transportation community apprised of
research through:
- Sponsorship of paper and conference sessions at TRB Annual
Meetings,
- Special committee-sponsored conferences and workshops,
- Informal networking,
- Response to requests for information, and
- Referrals to other experts.
- Stimulate research by:
- Developing and publishing research problem statements.
- Submitting research problem statements (through TRB)
to the NCHRP.
- Defining and publishing critical issues and research needs.
- Synthesize research and develop state-of-the-art reports through:
- Sponsorship of special workshops and conferences.
- Compilation of special bibliographies.
- Publishing compendiums of special papers and state-of-the-art
reports.
- Periodically recommending through TRB staff topics for inclusion
in the NCHRP and TCRP Synthesis series.
- Recommend papers for consideration for TRB-sponsored awards.
- Cosponsor special activities and provide liaison with other
TRB committees and with other transportation-oriented agencies
in the United States and in other countries.
- Conduct periodic self-evaluations of scope and activities.
- Upon request, serve, or nominate others to serve, as members
of project panels and committees in the other Divisions of the
Board.
- Encourage participation of students and young professionals.
Some of the tools tools to carry out these functions:
- Publications (newsletters, circulars, directories, tutorials,
manuals),
- Communications (E-mail, teleconferencing, telecommunications,
Internet, committee home pages, bulletin boards),
- Training workshops,
- Other Products (CD ROM, audio, and videotape),
- Organizational (subcommittees, friends), and
- Mid-year meetings, surveys, TRIS searches.
Formation
Process
New committees may be proposed by the Executive Committee, the
Executive Director, the Group Council, the sections, the committees,
or staff. Proposals should be submitted to the responsible TRB
staff person who in turn forwards the proposal for evaluation
to the Group Council chair and the Group's designated committee
for reviewing new proposals. If approved by the Group Council,
the proposal must also be approved by the Executive Director with
the concurrence of the Technical Activities Division Council.
Approval Criteria and Proposal Guidelines
Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:
- Clarity of mission and scope. A specific and concise description
is needed, clearly defining the purpose and interest areas of
the proposed committee. Exceedingly broad statements are to be
avoided. The proposal should provide evidence that the mission
and scope have been well planned.
- Evidence of uniqueness. The proposal should demonstrate that
the new activity is not duplicative or competitive with another
TRB committee. Scope statements from related committees should
be included in the proposal, along with specific information on
how the activities of the new committee would not unduly overlap
the existing committees. The endorsement of the chairs of related
standing committees and the section chairs should also be included.
The committee's relationship to organizations outside of TRB
should also be addressed, clearly indicating the unique role of
the TRB committee.
- Evidence of demand and potential accomplishment. Requests
should be accompanied by tangible indications of demand for the
new activity and evidence that the activity will provide significant
advances in research and/or practice.
- Previous activity. Requests for the establishment of standing
committees are expected to show significant accomplishments in
a lower organizational status, i.e., a task force or subcommittee.
While not a rigid requirement, evidence of previous productivity
and interest is highly desirable.
- Clear indication of planned activities. Specific activities
within which the committee intends to operate in order to achieve
its stated mission should be described. Activities might include
sponsorship of sessions at the annual meeting, specialized workshops,
publication of TRB circulars, development of NCHRP/TCRP research
statements, and so on.
Committee Numbers
Committees are assigned numbers for convenience of computer listing.
The committee number consists of the division, group, and section
designation followed by a twodigit Arabic numeral identification
of the committee within the section. Thus, Technical Activities Division, Group 1,
Management and Administration Section, Committee on Taxation,
Finance, and Pricing, is designated Committee A1A01.
Committee Evaluations
To ensure that TRB standing committees are productive in areas
of current interest, the following evaluations are conducted:
Triennial Self-Evaluations
The process centers around Triennial Self-Evaluation (TSEs) where
each committee critically evaluates itself by means of a written
report completed every three years.
The benefit of this process is that the committee chair and members
can identify areas where they are weak and take steps to strengthen
these areas in the future. Also, it provides the section chair
with concise information on the relative health of committees
within the section.
TSE reports are completed by March 1 in the year prior to the
completion of the committee chair's 3-year term.
Reviews by the Group's Standing Committee on Scope, Organization,
and Function
TSE reports are sent to Section Chair and to the group's standing
committee on Scope, Organization and Function (SOF). The SOF
committee evaluates six categories in the TSE report: Committee
Scope, Goals, Technical Interactions, Tech Transfer, Research
Needs, and Future Plans.
The SOF Committee provides feedback to the individual committee
with a copy to the Section chair. The form stresses factors related
to relevancy and appropriateness of the committee's scope and
activities, going beyond the quantity (or level) of their activities.
The objective is to take a broader look at how the committee
relates to other TRB committees and other organizations, the relative
importance of the committee's scope of activities at the present
time, etc.
The SOF Committee summarizes the evaluations on an annual basis
and submits the report to the Group Council Chair by September
1. The report includes the individual TSEs, the SOF feedback
forms, and a summary of the recommendations made throughout the
year.
Group Council Chair Reports
Each group council chair will report on the status of the committee
evaluation process and actions taken over the past year at the
Technical Activities Division Council meeting in June.
Schedule
Date |
Responsible Unit
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Action |
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March 1 |
Committee
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Completes TSE, submits to SOFC and Section Chair
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June 1 |
SOFC |
Review TSE, interact with Section Chair, feedback to Committee (copy to Section Chair)
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Sept. 1 |
SOFC |
Summary Report of TSEs to Group Council Chair
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January Annual Meeting |
Group Council
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Interacts with Section and Committee Chairs
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May 1 |
Group Council
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Summary report of TSEs Council to Technical Activities Division Council Chair
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June |
Technical Activities Division Council
|
Review and Action |
Section Reviews
Periodically, a section review will be accomplished by members
of the section and group, supplemented with participants from
other organizations. The objective of these reviews is to make
an overall assessment of the section make-up and activities in
relation to the current needs of the transportation community
in the section's area of interest. In the case of Groups 4 and
5, the review would be at the Group level.
Chairs
Process and Selection Criteria for New Appointments
- Committee members are advised of the anticipated opening one
year in advance (at the Annual Meeting), and requested to advise
staff of their personal interest or other candidates.
- The current committee chair and staff consider all committee
members, as well as others who may have expressed interest or
are believed to be good candidates. The following criteria and
factors are considered:
- Ensuring that all qualified candidates are considered, with
special attention given to women and minorities due to their under
representation at the committee chair level.
- Ability and willingness to perform the requisite duties
in an unbiased manner.
- Knowledge of and interest in the committee's field.
- Chair's interests and capabilities related to moving committee
in a desired direction.
- Demonstrated past accomplishments for the committee.
- Leadership qualities.
- Available resources including time, employer support, funds
(TRB provides travel reimbursement for one meeting each year).
- Desired mix of committee chair's affiliation (industry,
government, academia).
- The leading two or three candidates are discussed with a Section
chair (Groups 1, 2, and 3 only).
- Staff reviews the candidate(s) with the Technical Activities Division Director.
- The leading candidate(s) is contacted by the committee chair
or staff to determine his or her level of interest, views on committee
directions and activities, and resources (time, funds, employer
support).
- Staff submits a request for appointment to the Technical Activities Division Director,
who forwards the request for approval to the SNO chair and appropriate
group council chair.
- Following approval in Step 6 and concurrence of the Executive
Director, the individual is appointed by the Executive Director
on behalf of the Executive Committee for a 3-year term.
Tenure in Office and Reappointments
The tenure in office is normally limited to two 3year appointments.
Reappointments for the second term are based on the applicable
criteria listed in the preceding section, as well as the individual's
accomplishments during the first term.
Duties
The duties of committee chairs are to
- Plan, lead, and direct committee work. Early each year, objectives
for the year should be established in consonance with the committee's
longrange goals.
- Conduct meetings of the committee.
- Provide for the review of papers and other documents.
- Make recommendations to the section chair (or to the Group
chair if there are no sections) concerning
- Acceptance or rejection or other disposition of papers
proposed for presentation or publication by TRB.
- Membership of the committee, including the release
of inactive members. Before recommending the appointment or reappointment
of a member, the chair should first assure himself by personal
contact or correspondence that the appointment will be accepted.
Inactive members are normally removed when their appointment
expires.
- Disposition of recommendations of the committee.
- Improvements in the committee organization, including
changes in name or scope and formation of additional committees
or deletion and combination of committees.
- Notify authors of papers of the results of the committee's
review. Give final notice to authors of papers that cannot be
recommended by the committee for presentation or publication.
Recommend to TRB staff the disposition of papers recommended
for presentation or publication.
- Form subcommittees as necessary and keep the staff representative
informed of subcommittee appointments and scopes.
- When appropriate, prepare questionnaires and forward them
through the staff representative to the Executive Director for
approval before distribution.
- Arrange for the preparation of minutes of committee meetings
and their distribution after approving them.
Other Officers
The committee chair may select any member of the committee to
serve as secretary. The staff representative shall be notified
immediately of all such selections, so that official invitations
may be extended. Officially appointed secretaries will be so
identified on committee rosters. The committee chair may designate
any member of the committee as a subcommittee chair or as chair
pro tem or secretary pro tem.
Members
Appointment
The Executive Director, on behalf of the Chairman of the Executive
Committee, appoints the committee members for a 3year period.
Reappointments are limited by the National Academy of Sciences'
requirements for substantial rotation of membership. Interim
appointments are for the period designated by the Executive Director.
Members of a committee are selected on the basis of their interest
in and ability to contribute to the study of the subject or to
the solution of the problem under consideration. When recommending
the appointment or reappointment of committee members, a committee
chair should ensure that all appropriate disciplines are represented.
A reasonable balance in the employment or professional connections
of members should be sought. A balanced committee might be composed
of both research and operating personnel from transportation departments
and representatives of federal and local government, industry,
consulting firms, universities, and other appropriate agencies
or organizations especially interested in the committee's scope
and objectives. Depending on the scope of the committee, representatives
from various transportation modes should be appointed.
A committee chair should be alert to developments in related fields
that might make additional appointments desirable. Appointment
of more than one member from an organization is not usually considered
conducive to balance and diversification of interest but may be
justified when the additional members bring needed additional
talents and viewpoints to the committee. The committee membership
should be reviewed annually to see that appropriate balance is
being maintained. Official committee rosters are those maintained
by and at the TRB offices. Chairs are encouraged to review official
rosters when they are distributed to ensure correctness.
Membership on committees is on an individual basis. Members do
not represent their organizations on a committee. Chairs should
be constantly alert to potential conflicts of interest.
Turnover Requirements of Committee Membership
The National Academy of Sciences requires a substantial turnover
in the membership of committees and other appointed elements.
TRB is committed to a onethird turnover in the membership
of each committee every third year. In general, this means that
onethird of the membership must be retired and onethird
of the names on the roster must be new every third year. Normal
attrition will influence the required turnover. Inactive members
should not be reappointed.
In addition, special justification is needed for a member to serve
more than 9 years if there is a waiting list for committee membership.
Multiple Membership
An individual may be a member of more than one committee. The
ability of the appointee to attend meetings and carry on other
committee activities must be taken into account during the processes
leading to recommendation and approval of appointments. Some
individuals are fully capable of excellent service on three or
four committees; others are sometimes strained by a single assignment.
Group Council Members
Group Council members are ex officio members of all of that Group's
committees but are not counted in committee size and may not vote.
Intersectional Representatives on Committees
A committee member of one section may be appointed to a committee
of another section, principally for liaison purposes. Such a
member may be asked to render a report on activities that are
of interest to the sections concerned. Better communications
among committees and sections may thus be obtained.
Committees Limited to 25 Members
Committees are limited to 25 members including the chair. Permission
to exceed this limit is granted only in exceptional cases and
then only for the remainder of the appointment period. The exception
to this rule is that committees may include as many as four nonNorth
American members above the 25member limit.
Desire for membership will frequently exceed this numerical limitation.
Several TRB committee chairs take advantage of this popularity
by creation of adjunct groups often called "Friends of the
Committee." Such groups afford those who are excluded by
the numbers an opportunity to be informed of and to participate
in the committee's work. Such Friends often review papers, serve
as subcommittee members, offer papers of their own, and in other
ways demonstrate their willingness to contribute their time and
talent. This kind of service is seldom overlooked the next time
the committee chair must meet turnover requirements. However,
the Friends arrangement is not given formal recognition in TRB's
membership rolls.
Termination of Membership on Committees
Any member who cannot actively participate in the activities of
a committee because of a change in employment, conflicts with
personal responsibilities, or for any other reason is encouraged
to submit a resignation to the committee chair. The chair should
forward all resignations to the staff representative with a recommendation
for disposition. Inactive members who do not resign may be permitted
to complete the term of appointment or may be removed for cause.
There may be instances when it is desirable for committee chairs
to initiate action to terminate the membership of a member who
has been inactive for a period of time and who has repeatedly
failed to respond to written communications mailed to his recorded
address. The chair should document the circumstances and forward
them to the staff representative with a recommendation for disposition.
Duties of Committee Members
The duties of committee members are to:
- Serve on task forces of the Group at the request of the Group
Council;
- Offer their own papers for presentation and publication by
TRB and encourage others to do likewise;
- Assist in the preparation of committee reports;
- Assist in the review, summarization, and evaluation of available
research findings on specific problems for the purpose of drawing
conclusions and making recommendations for the practical use of
these findings;
- Prepare problem statements of needed research;
- Make recommendations to the committee chair concerning needed
research in other areas;
- Assist in the preparation of reports on current practices
or recommended practices, or both;
- Review papers and other documents referred to them;
- Attend committee meetings for the transaction of necessary
business that cannot be easily conducted by correspondence, for
the discussion of research papers, for the preparation of recommendations,
and for the fulfillment of other purposes or functions of the
committee;
- Answer committee correspondence and keep committee officers
and TRB staff representatives advised of their current mailing
addresses;
- Advise the committee chair and staff representative of appropriate
research that comes to their attention;
- Assist in the planning and developing of committeesponsored
conferences and workshops;
- Assist in the compilation of bibliographies and in the preparation
of stateoftheart reports; and
- Perform other functions.
Subcommittees
Subcommittees necessary for the conduct of committee work may
be formed by the committee chair, who appoints subcommittee chairs
and members. Members are selected on the basis of their expert
knowledge and ability to contribute to the completion of the assigned
task. Members need not be members of the parent committee, but
chairs must be; special care is required to ensure that all subcommittee
members understand their relationship to TRB and to the parent
committee.
Subcommittee appointments are for the period necessary to complete
the assignment; however, in no case shall an appointment extend
beyond the appointment period of the parent committee. All subcommittees
should be discharged when they have completed their assignments.
Rosters of subcommittees will not be listed in the TRB Directory
and do not become official until the Council chair and staff representative
are notified of the appointments.
Subcommittees will be numbered with an Arabic numeral in parentheses
directly following the committee number [e.g., A3A01(1)].
Meetings
When Held
It is customary for committees to meet during the TRB Annual Meeting
at a time and place agreed on by the chair and TRB through the
staff representative.
Midyear meetings of committees are encouraged when they can facilitate
carrying out the committee's purposes and goals. Activities for
such meetings must be carefully planned and directed toward specific
purposes and goals. The TRB staff representative will assist
with arrangements for the meeting and perhaps can arrange for
a meeting room and other miscellaneous expenses. The committee
chair, however, must work closely with the
staff representative on such matters and is not authorized to
commit TRB to the payment of expenses not previously approved.
Quorum and Rules of Order
Twothirds of the members shall constitute a quorum for the
adoption of motions concerning scope of committees, work programs,
committee reports, and other motions that express the will of
the committee. If a quorum is not present, those present should
operate as a subcommittee and their motions shall be put as a
letter ballot to the committee. Favorable action by twothirds
of the committee members shall be required for approval of any
letter ballot. Meetings are open unless the chair designates
an executive session. Visitors may take part in discussion but
may not propose motions or vote. Committee members who are unable
to attend a committee meeting may designate proxies who shall
have all the rights and privileges of members. The committee
chair may require proxy designations in writing.
Minutes
Minutes should be prepared to record the actions approved by the
chair and members and distributed to all committee members, the
section chair, the Group Council chair, and the staff representative.
Statement on Potential Sources of Bias
Chairs must always be alert to potential sources of bias at a
committee's first meeting, following reappointment of a committee
after onethird membership rotation, and at other times when
bias needs to be considered. Committees are normally composed
of biased members; the important consideration is to be sure that
no bias remains secret to the detriment of the committee's work.
Expenses of Those Attending
It is the policy of TRB to help defray transportation and subsistence
expenses of chairs of committees for either the TRB Annual Meeting
or the committee's midyear meeting when they cannot obtain funds
elsewhere and to the extent funds are available in the annual
budget of TRB. Funds are not available to cover the expenses
of committee members. In all instances, written approval of
TRB must be obtained before reimbursable expenses are incurred.
The Executive Director will communicate with committee chairs
before each Annual Meeting regarding the nature and extent of
reimbursement available for that meeting.
Funds
Committees and task forces do not have any fiduciary authority
on behalf of TRB, i.e., committees are not authorized to directly
hold TRB funds. Individuals holding any funds on behalf of the
committee are fully responsible for those funds. To protect all
concerned, the following guidelines should be followed;
- Summer Committee Meetings - Committees sometimes collect a
small registration fee to cover on-site expenses of their summer
meetings. Funds remaining after a meeting, not to exceed $500,
may be held by an individual of the committee (at their own risk)
until the following year's meeting. The amount being held should
be made known to the committee chair and staff, and preferably,
to the full committee. If the remaining funds exceed $500, they
should be forwarded to TRB for retention until the next meeting
(smaller amounts may also be forwarded for retention by TRB if
the committee prefers).
- Workshops and Conferences - Registration fees from committee-sponsored
workshops and conferences, as well as funds from any other sources,
should not be held by an individual(s) or the committee. These
funds should be held by an organization, i.e., either TRB or the
organization that is sponsoring/hosting the activity, e.g., a
state DOT.
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