TRB Executive Committee

The TRB Executive Committee is the senior policy body of TRB, composed of approximately 25 members appointed by the Chairman of the National Research Council (NRC). These members are selected so as to provide balanced representation of transportation modes, academic disciplines, private and public sectors, levels of government, geographical regions, and other relevant factors. Members are appointed for a term of three years and may be reappointed for one term. In addition, approximately 20 ex officio members serve on the Executive Committee; these members have no vote but otherwise participate fully in Executive Committee activity. Ex officio members include the representatives of the Board’s various sponsoring organizations.  A list of past chairs of TRB's Executive Committee is available online.

The Executive Committee meets twice a year, once at TRB's Annual Meeting in Washington each January and once in June. The Chair of TRB's Executive Committee, appointed by the Chairman of the NRC, serves a one-year term, and presides over the Committee discussions, which are directed toward obtaining consensus on issues wherever possible. When formal rules of debate are required, Roberts' Rules of Order are employed.

Executive Committee Responsibilities to the NRC

The TRB Executive Committee is officially an advisory group to the Chairman and the Governing Board of the NRC, who look to the Executive Committee to provide oversight of TRB's activities. Such oversight is intended to ensure that TRB's activities are appropriate for the NRC and constructive to the transportation system and the nation. Reports (both written and oral) of ongoing and proposed TRB projects are brought to the Executive Committee at each meeting and are approved, rejected, or accepted after modification. The Board is also expected to note new opportunities for TRB to provide its services or projects and, where appropriate, to find ways to bring such projects into being.

The TRB Division Committee  is charged to ensure that NRC procedures and policies are faithfully employed with respect to study and project committee appointments and report review. The TRB Division Committee is chaired by the TRB Division Chair for NRC Oversight, who must be a member of the National Academy of Sciences or the National Academy of Engineering and a member of the TRB Executive Committee. The TRB Division Chair for NRC Oversight serves as an ex officio member of the NRC Governing Board.

Also assisting the Executive Committee is its Subcommittee on Planning and Policy Review (SPPR), which reviews and approves proposed projects and studies, develops lists of Critical Issues in Transportation, plans and develops opportunities for new Executive Committee initiatives, and generally handles those substantive transportation issues that require action during the interval between the twice-yearly meetings of the Executive Committee. Items approved by the SPPR are brought before the Executive Committee for its concurrence at its next meeting.