New ideas and guidance: The LRRB needs you!
by Tom Colbert, Eagan Director of Public Works
I'm sure many of you are familiar with or at least have heard of the Minnesota Local Road Research Board (LRRB). But have you ever stopped to think about the meaning of its name? Obviously, the key word is "Research." Where would our society be without research? I can't think of any profession that hasn't benefited from research in the pursuit of trying to make a better society.
And in the field of transportation, we all know that "Roads" are what the world rolls on. However, I think that the real key word is "Local." This is where "the rubber hits the road," so to speak. At the local level, it is the practitioners—local engineers, managers, and other officials—who are expected to make it good, make it right, make it last, and make it cost next to nothing. That's perfection! And it is research that makes this noble goal attainable. Just as necessity is the mother of invention, problems with no easy solution (or just plain inquisitive minds) are the heart and soul of research.
Township, city, and county agencies usually do not have the physical, technical, or financial resources to perform the necessary research or experiments to find better means, methods, or procedures to improve current practices for constructing or maintaining our transportation infrastructure. That's where the "Board" comes in. This is a representative group of engineers from city, county, state, and academic institutions that solicit, review, initiate, and fund research projects for "Local" roads.
While professionals through the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota State Colleges & University (MNSCU) system, or dedicated research engineers within Mn/DOT perform the research, there is a need for practical guidance and input from the local practitioners (that's you and me!) to ensure that the research results are able to be put to practical use. Every research project needs a Technical Liaison (TL) who serves as the central contact for the researcher and also chairs a Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) consisting of two or more other peer members from local agencies to collectively help guide and direct the research to a meaningful and useful result.
The TAP usually meets two to four times over the course of the research for approximately two hours at a location close to the research and convenient to the TAP members. They don't have to do any work on the research itself other than to provide meaningful feedback to the researchers as the project progresses. So you can see that the time commitment is not extensive, and it is also a great opportunity to network with your peers on some interesting topics.
The benefits that this local input provides to this type of research are invaluable. Similarly, the benefits received by the local practitioners (again, you and me) from participating in meaningful and oftentimes cutting-edge research are very fulfilling and rewarding, both personally and as a professional career enhancement.
The LRRB needs both ideas and volunteers from people just like you. We need you to submit problem statements (i.e., ideas) that can be used to solicit research proposals for funding through the LRRB. Once funded as a formal proposal, we need your continued interest and involvement as a valued TAP member to guide the research.
If you have an idea that just needs some research to be the next big breakthrough, or would just like to be part of helping to make our tomorrow better by providing your thoughts to something that interests you, please let us know. Contact Barb Loida of Mn/DOT Research Services at 651-297-5292, barbara.loida@dot.state.mn.us, for further information. I can confidently say you'll be glad you did.
Colbert is a former chair of the Minnesota LRRB and has been a member of several TAPs.