Strategic Plan

Idaho Technology Transfer Center

The Idaho Technology Transfer Center (T2) serves as Idaho’s Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) and has been an educational and information clearinghouse for the Local Highway Jurisdiction (LHJ) within Idaho for over 23 years. The program was first established within the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) in 1986 and was moved to the University of Idaho in 1996 and currently resides at the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council (LHTAC) starting in 2009. The Idaho T2 Center strives to support all 290 LHJs, as well as the Idaho tribes, ITD, and other federal and state organizations which work on or around Idaho’s transportation system.

Core Values and Role

The Idaho T2 Center’s Strategic Plan defines and shapes the business lifecycle of the Program. The Center plays a critical role in advancing the local surface transportation system and is a partner of choice for training and technical assistance throughout the local transportation community.

The strategic plan articulates the vision and mission for the Center, as well as the core issues that drive the program stakeholders. To both fulfill their needs and better manage the Program at the local level, the Plan aligns its core competencies with those of the wider community through four key areas that indicate both program functions and critical drivers for the Center. The Plan and its underlying strategic and operational framework are intended to be focused in the short term and sustainable over the long-term.

The Idaho Center has a number of core values, which are:

  • Responsive to local needs.
  • Take advantage of a variety of resources to bring to Idaho.
  • Focus on providing a range of products and services to Idaho.
  • Provide the tools that local agencies can leverage to do more for Idaho communities.
  • Take advantage of the latest technologies in delivery to Idahoans.
  • To provide affordable resources and technical assistance

The Center works with a number of Local, State and National partners to assist in meeting the needs of the LHJs. Partners include the Association of Idaho Cities, Idaho Association of Counties, Idaho Association of Highway Districts, Idaho FHWA Division Office, Workforce Training Network, Idaho County Risk Management Program ICRMP, ITD, National LTAP, National Association of County Engineers (NACE) and other associations and organizations.

Vision and Mission

The last revision of the Idaho T2 Center’s Strategic Plan was completed in 1996 with the move to the University of Idaho. While the goals of the program continue to be reflected within the old plan as with all plans a review should be completed to insure that it reflects the direction of the program. The vision and mission of the T2 Center were developed collaboratively by the T2 staff and key stakeholders.

Idaho T2 Vision:

We will enhance the capability of highway agencies to provide a quality, safe, efficient, and environmentally sound transportation system.

Idaho T2 Mission:

To provide training and technical assistance that meets the needs of highway jurisdictions in Idaho and promotes best practices in an efficient and effective manner through strong partnerships and effective communications.

Focus Areas

To assist the program in refining the direction of the program, four areas of focus were developed aligning the program with the local efforts as well as with the national program. Each of these focus areas also provide support as to whether they are externally focused on the needs of the Local agencies or focused on the needs of the staff and or the program itself.

  • Safety External
  • Infrastructure Management External
  • Professional Development Internal/External
  • Continuous Improvement Internal/External

Safety is a primary concern of every part of the surface transportation system. With focus from local, state, tribal and Federal government partners as well as the private and commercial sector. The public does not care who owns the transportation system they drive on. They only care that they can travel from one place to the other as safely and efficiently as possible. The T2 Center will provide training and services that enhance participant’s awareness of Safety issues and contribute to the overall safety of Idaho’s transportation system.

Infrastructure Management gets at the heart of the local agency situation-developing strategies that maximize the performance of their infrastructure while minimizing any negative effect on financial and/or human resources. The T2 Center will gather best practices on infrastructure management through conferences and meeting, disseminate the information within the training programs provided.

As part of the workforce development cycle, Professional Development of the transportation community as well as the staff of the program will be the key factor to insure that the transportation system is functioning at the level expected by the travel population. A highly trained workforce aids in an organizations ability to operate efficiently. The Center will provide assistance through articles published in the newsletter as well as the training courses that are offered.

To assist the highway jurisdictions as they continue to evolve in their roles as transportation agencies, the Center needs to provide support to them through new technologies and information. As well as the local agencies, the Idaho T2 Center is accountable to not only our clients (the Transportation Community) but also to the agencies that provide additional funding for the program. So Continuous Improvement will be a process that will be used to improve the efficient development of the program. By reporting our efforts to the Center’s Advisory Board, the LHTAC Council and FHWA, the Center will be able to provide the steps that have been taken but will also expect the support and input from the organization that it reports to, to enhance the program.

Performance Measures

Currently FHWA requires all LTAP Centers to provide a report on the courses taught, the number of videos or documents checked from the library, the number of newsletters distributed and other activities within the four focus areas for the National program. The Advisory Board requested that the Center provides a narrative report on its current work plan and budget. This report as well as a copy of the current PAR will be provided to the Advisory Board, LHTAC Council and ITD twice a year.