Project 8.5
Member Outreach Support

As the North/West Passage has continued to expand its efforts to coordinate traveler information and operations across state borders, it has also expanded its reach to include additional operations oriented staff in the member agencies. The program also has goals to support the coordination of planning and programming ITS deployments in the corridor. For most of the states, these expanded efforts require the engagement of agency staff beyond the steering committee representative.

The first task in the project was to assess the following existing outreach tools that the North/West Passage has developed and continues to update. A survey was distributed and the results of the survey recommended that members continue to use each of the tools and they should continue to be maintained. Members uses of the materials varies but includes requesting funds for participation in the program and updating managers on North/West Passage activities.

The second task included developing additional outreach material based on the results of the survey. Some of the member state requested a state specific benefits summary. Summary documents were prepared providing background on the overall program, state specific financial benefits and information on previous and current projects with state specific results.

The last task for the project focused on conducting peer exchange efforts and funding travel for these outreach opportunities. Two outreach opportunities were supported through this project.

• Rural TMC/TOC Operations Peer Exchange – A peer exchange for Project 8.2: Concept for Rural TMC/TOC Operations was held in Cheyenne, WY on March 11, 2014. Representatives from Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota received information about rural TMC/TOC operational concepts in Wyoming, Idaho, and Minnesota.
• Citizen Reporting Peer Exchange – A citizen reporting peer exchange webinar was held in Fall of 2014. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss states' interest in citizen reporting and review approaches and experiences with citizen reporting in Wyoming and Idaho.