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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Communicating the Value of Research: Contractor's Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23034.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Communicating the Value of Research: Contractor's Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23034.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Communicating the Value of Research: Contractor's Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23034.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Communicating the Value of Research: Contractor's Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23034.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Communicating the Value of Research: Contractor's Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23034.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Communicating the Value of Research: Contractor's Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23034.
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NCHRP Web-Only Document 131 National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 20-78 Communicating the Value of Research Contractor’s Final Report November 4, 2008 NuStats LLC Austin, Texas

ACKNOWLEDGMENT This work was sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, and was conducted in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), which is administered by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies. COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, Transit Development Corporation, or AOC endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. DISCLAIMER The opinion and conclusions expressed or implied in the report are those of the research agency. They are not necessarily those of the TRB, the National Research Council, AASHTO, or the U.S. Government. This report has not been edited by TRB.

Table of Contents Summary 1 Introduction 2 Purpose and Scope 2 Current Context 3 Research Approach 3 Report Organization 5 Chapter 1: Audience Identification and Research-Related Information Needs and Communication Practices 6 Introduction 6 Synthesis of Information Needs and Communication Approaches 7 Persons Interviewed 13 Chapter 2: Research-Related Communications Efforts Leading to Passage of SAFETEA-LU 15 Introduction 15 Background: SAFETEA-LU Passage 15 Funding Issues 15 Shaping the SAFETEA-LU Discussion 16 Communicating with Congress about Research 16 Communicating National Values of Research 17 Broad Coalitions 17 A Success Story 18 Not the Only Criteria for Success 18 Strategic and Flexible Planning 19 Messaging Strategies 20 Relationship Building 22 Working from Within 23 Conclusions and Issues for the Next Reauthorization 24 SAFETEA-LU Lessons and Relevant Issues for Legislative Processes 24 General Observations on Improving Research Communication to Congress 25 Persons Interviewed 27 Chapter 3: Case Study Selection Criteria and Recommended Transportation Research Projects 29 Introduction 29 Hypothesis Testing 30 Strategy for the Selection of Cases 30 Selected Cases 31 A. Hard Science 31 B. Soft Science 35 C. Possible Projects 36

Chapter 4: In-Depth Case Study Analysis 38 Introduction 38 Case Study 1: Adaptive Control Software (ACS) Lite 39 Overview 39 Context for Adaptive Control Software 39 Background on Traffic Control Systems 39 Challenges 40 Overcoming Barriers to Success 40 Embedded Case Studies: The technical implementation 41 Bibliography 42 Persons Interviewed 42 Case Study 2: Northwestern University New Bridge Steel 43 Overview and Background 43 Requisites for Implementing Research Results 44 Proof Testing the New Steel 45 Full Field Implementation 45 Resistance to Certification and Implementation 46 Communications Channels to Support Implementation 47 Message Content 47 Resistance to Change 48 Persons Interviewed 48 Case Study 3: California Seismic Bridge Retrofit Program 49 Overview and Background 49 Context of Seismic Retrofit Research 49 Communicating the Value of Seismic Retrofit Research 51 Rapid Implementation 51 Communicating Research Findings to Decision Makers 51 Partnerships 52 Flexibility 52 Allocating Funds to Seismic Retrofit and New Capacity Projects 53 Challenges 53 Serious Threat 53 Personal Commitment 53 Communication within the Research Community and to Decision Makers 54 Outcomes 57 Communication Techniques 57 The Right Stuff 57 Bibliography 59 Persons Interviewed 59 Case Study 4: Virginia Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bridge Deck 60 Overview 60 Context 60 Background 61 Selection Committees 62 Proposal 63 Challenges Encountered, Actions Taken 63 External Communications 64 Outcomes 65 Persons Interviewed 65

Case Study 5: Missouri Statewide Installation of Median Cable Barriers 66 Overview and Background 66 History of Cable Barrier Use 66 Challenges Encountered 67 Communication Strategies 68 The Role of the Media 70 Analysis of Post-Communication Situation 70 Bibliography 71 Persons Interviewed 71 Case Study 6: Oregon Mileage Fee Concept and Road User Fee Pilot Program 72 Overview and Background 72 Context 72 Facts about the Case 73 Conceptual Phase 73 Pilot Test Phase 73 Timeline 74 Challenges Encountered 75 Communications Strategies 75 Conclusions/Lessons Learned 76 Bibliography 77 Persons Interviewed 77 Case Study 7: Legislative Advocacy for Programmatic Research - The National Cooperative Freight Research Program 78 Overview and Background 78 The Public Interest in Freight Research 78 A Coalition of Freight Interests 79 Role of AASHTO 80 Feasible Implementation Plan 81 A Champion for Freight Research 82 Persons Interviewed 83 Chapter 5: Analysis of the Communications Process 84 Introduction 84 Advancing and Communicating Value 84 Communications Process 84 Context—Situational Analyses 85 Strategy—How and What for Whom 85 Content—What to Include 86 Channels—Means of Communication 86 Style—Look and Feel 87 Case Study Syntheses 88 Audience Information Needs and the Communication Process 92 Chapter 6: Review of Best Practices from Other Fields and Results of Communications Research 97 Introduction 97 Best Practice Review 98 Research Communications Processes 99 Communication Channels 102 Communication Styles 103 Target Audiences 104 Best Practices Interview Summaries 107

Susan G. Komen for the Cure 107 Context 107 Facts 107 Challenges 108 Outcomes 108 Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) 109 Context 109 Facts 109 Challenges 110 Outcomes 110 Consultative Group on International Agriculture Resources (CGIAR) 111 Context 111 Facts 111 Challenges 112 Outcomes 112 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 113 Context 113 Facts 113 Challenges And Outcomes 114 Bibliography 115 Organizational Websites 115 Articles 116 Workshops/Conferences/Training Programs 116 Concluding Observations 117 Communication Matters 117 Communications Is Part of the Research Process – Not an Add-on 117 Taking Communications Seriously Means Building Skills and Considering Communications Professionals 118 Guidebook 118

List of Tables Table 1-1: Audience Information Needs/Format and Preferred Communication Modalities 9 Table 1-2: Communications Approaches and Messaging Strategies of Transportation Research Program Managers 11 Figure 4-1: Relationship Between Earthquakes and Responses 51 Figure 4-2: Expertise Differences that Define Communication Needs 55 Figure 4-3: Variability of Peak Ground Acceleration for a Given Distance from Earthquake Fault 56 Figure 5-1: Generic Process for Communicating the Value of Research 85 Table 5-1: Case Study Synthesis 89 Table 5-2: Summary of Audience Interviews (Task 1) 94 Table 5-3: Summary of Interviews with Transportation Research Program Managers (Task 2) 95 Table 6-1: Organizations’ Communications Processes 100 Table 6-2: Research Communications Channels Used by Other Organizations 102 Table 6-3: Audience-specific Communications 105

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TRB’s NationalCooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 131: Communicating the Value of Transportation Research is the contractor’s final report on the research associated with NCHRP Report 610: Communicating the Value of Transportation Research.

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