Partners

Partners are organizations that work in close collaboration with PCB Programs to deliver courses, training, and professional development opportunities for the transportation workforce.

The National Highway Institute (NHI) is a part of the Office of Professional and Corporate Development (OPCD) within the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). NHI's goals are to:

• Train the current and future transportation workforce.
• Transfer knowledge quickly and effectively to and among transportation professionals.
• Provide training that addresses the full life cycle of the highway transportation system.

NHI was established by Congress in 1970 and is the training and education arm of FHWA. NHI provides training resources to customers, partners, and learners in every State. Local governments and private organizations also benefit from NHI's training resources.

NHI also works with other programs and activities to support the training and education needs of the transportation workforce. Notably, NHI is involved with the OPCD's Affiliate Programs, the University and Grants Program (UG&P), and Workforce Development Initiatives.

The National Transit Institute (NTI), at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, was established in 1992 to develop, promote, and deliver training and education programs for the public transit industry. NTI's mission is to provide training, education, and clearinghouse services in support of public transportation and quality of life in the United States. NTI works closely with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to train the current transportation workforce in the full life cycle of public transportation systems.

NTI identifies needs; promotes, develops, and delivers high quality learning programs and materials through cooperative partnerships with industry, government, institutions, and associations; and serves as a catalyst for enhancing skills and performance in public transportation.

The Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) and Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) are composed of a network of 58 centers — one in every state and Puerto Rico, as well as 7 regional centers serving tribal governments. The LTAP/TTAP centers enable local counties, parishes, townships, cities and towns to improve their roads and bridges by supplying them with a variety of training programs, an information clearinghouse, new and existing technology updates, personalized technical assistance and newsletters.

University Transportation Centers (UTCs) are internationally recognized centers of excellence, fully integrated within institutions of higher learning, that serve as a vital source of leaders who are prepared to meet the nation's need for safe, efficient, and environmentally sound movement of people and goods. UTCs work in cooperation with the U.S. DOT to advance technology and expertise in the many disciplines comprising transportation through the mechanisms of education, research, and technology transfer.

UTC funding is established through each new Congressional legislation. The centers are established or competitively selected for the duration of each transportation bill. With the enactment of the current legislation, SAFETEA-LU, 60 centers were established in 2006. Each center develops a plan that include the following goals:

• Education: a multi disciplinary program of course work and experiential learning that reinforces the transportation theme of the Center.
• Human Resources: an increased number of students, faculty and staff who are attracted to and substantively involved in the undergraduate, graduate and professional programs of the Center.
• Diversity: students, faculty and staff who reflect the growing diversity of the U.S. workforce and are substantively involved in the undergraduate, graduate and professional programs of the Center.
• Research Selection: an objective process for selecting and reviewing research that balances multiple objectives of the program.
• Research Performance: an ongoing program of basic and applied research, the products of which are judged by peers or other experts in the field to advance the body of knowledge in transportation.
• Technology Transfer: availability of research results to potential users in a form that can be directly implemented, utilized or otherwise applied.

The UTC Program is a part of the U.S. DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).

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