Technology Transfer (T2) News
2009
08.06.09
Vedlitz Participates in National Energy and Climate Policy Conversation
Related Links
Conference on the Formulation of Energy and Climate Policy: Toward an Open and Transparent Process
- Description
- Agenda [PDF, 107K]
- Video Stream
Related article in UTCM Annual Report, FY09 [PDF, 245K]
Howard Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Institute for Science, Technology, and Public Policy
UTCM project #07-03 "Transportation Planning, Policy and Climate Change: Making the Long Term Connection"
Dr. Arnold Vedlitz, Director of the Institute for Science, Technology, and Public Policy (see link, box right) at Texas A&M University's George Bush School of Government and Public Service, was invited by the Howard Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy (see link, box right) and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (see link, box right) to help organize and participate in a conference entitled "Formulation of Energy and Climate Policy: Toward an Open and Transparent Process" (see link, box right) on June 18-19, 2009, in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Vedlitz's participation in this conference was partially supported by the UTCM project "Transportation Planning, Policy and Climate Change: Making the Long Term Connection" (see link, box right).
The invitation-only workshop explored how systems thinking and modeling approaches can be used to create a transparent framework that supports policymakers, engages expert knowledge and informs government, private sector and individual American stakeholders on the trade-offs and consequences of various policy options.
Dr. Vedlitz chaired a discussion panel entitled "Energy and Climate Policy and Stakeholder Domains: Goals, Perspectives and Interconnections."
This two day conference is the second event in the "Joint Program on Presidential Policy-Making: Formulating a Bipartisan Energy and Climate Policy for America" (see link, box right).
The Joint Program was formed to explore how best to assist policymakers in understanding the implications of various energy and climate policy options.
A report summarizing key findings and recommendations of the workshop will be published; the report will become part of the final report of the overall Joint Program. This final report will be sent to President Obama and key members of his administration, to leaders in Congress and to other interested individuals and institutions in government, education, and industry.
04.16.09
UTCM Sponsors Symposium on Mileage-Based User Fees
April 14-15, 2009, Austin, TX
Sponsored by:
University Transportation Center for Mobility, Texas Transportation Institute
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota
This symposium brought together professionals in the field of road user fees to share information and advance the discussion of user-based fees as a potential replacement for the fuel tax. Representatives from past, current and upcoming pilot studies and implementations presented lessons learned and key study topics from their projects. Panel discussions addressed specific topics such as legislative and policy issues, public acceptance challenges, potential technology applications, and institutional issues. The symposium incorporated interactive discussion sessions on logical next steps as well as the associated challenges and opportunities.
For symposium proceedings and other information, visit the symposium web site at: http://utcm.tamu.edu/mbuf/
01.28.29
UTCM PI Presents Project Results to Texas Senate Committee
Linda Cherrington
Program Manager, TTI System Planning, Policy and Environment Research Group, Transit Mobility Program
Linda Cherrington, PI of the UTCM project "Nationwide Examples of State and Local Funds for Mass Transit", was invited to meet with the Texas Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security on January 28, 2009 to present results of her project.
One of the transportation challenges facing Texas is the identification of adequate funding for mobility projects. During the 80th Texas Legislature, several proposals were made to address mass transit funding for the metropolitan areas of the state. Recognizing the need for more information on this topic, the chairman of the Texas Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security requested that Texas Transportation Institute update previous research on national examples for funding regional transit and provide additional information on regional rail projects. UTCM funded this research in 2008, with Cherrington as PI.
Cherrington's research documents nationwide examples for funding mass transit and regional rail. The research findings provide the requested background information for members of the Senate Committee for decisions they face in funding mass transit in Texas.
The final report on Cherrington's project can be accessed here.
