AASHTO Staff Contact
Nicholas Ramfos,
Director, NOCoE
nramfos@aashto.org | (202) 624-5478
Let's Talk
Program Overview
The National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) provides a centralized and comprehensive set of resources to serve the Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) community. The NOCoE is a collaborative effort of AASHTO, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), with support from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
It offers the following technical services:
- On-call assistance to state DOTs to identify best practices and other resources to address specific technical and policy issues that TSMO professionals face.
- The TSMO Knowledge Center at www.transportationops.org, containing thousands of resources on TSMO strategies, programs, practices, case studies, and a calendar of TSMO-related events.
- A suite of online workforce development resources, including a comprehensive guidebook to provide practitioners with a tool to develop a strong TSMO workforce, and links to resources focused on student education, workforce pipelines and training, the paraprofessional workforce, HR resources and supports, success stories, and more.
- National Summits on topics of consequence for the entire TSMO community.
- In person, hybrid, and virtual Peer Exchanges enabling practitioners to share knowledge and propose actions to address gaps.
- Webinars highlighting innovative TSMO practices and strategies.
- The annual TSMO awards program that highlight excellent TSMO implementation and associated case studies.
- The Transportation Technology Tournament that invites university students to submit their ideas to enhance TSMO.
State DOT Benefits
NOCoE’s three strategic goals are mapped to reflect the needs of state DOT TSMO agencies. They are: 1) Attract, develop, sustain, and expand the TSMO workforce; 2) Accelerate deployment of current and emerging TSMO practices; and 3) Mainstream TSMO as a core function of providing transportation system solutions for all. State DOTs will benefit from their involvement with NOCoE through:
- Their leadership’s involvement in National TSMO summits focused on industry-wide, national-level topics leading to the development of priorities, action plans, and resources all DOTs to address their goals and objectives.
- State DOT staff participation in peer exchanges and webinars that facilitate knowledge sharing and application to enhance each attendee’s performance back at the office. PDHs are offered for each of these events.
- Sponsorship of young TSMO practitioners in NOCoE’s Transportation Technology Tournament, with the potential to enhance the TSMO workforce.
- Case studies that stem from TSMO award submissions are now the most widely accessed and applied knowledge resources at NOCoE.
- NOCoE’s TSMO Resource Connect, which helps state DOTs get access to resources and networking opportunities to help improve TSMO activities.