About the National Associations Working Group
Background
The National Associations Working Group (NAWG) was created in 1995 in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT). NAWG member associations represent elected/appointed officials and transportation practitioners from state and local government, transportation service providers, academia, and industry representatives. At the outset, NAWG was an informal group of national associations whose members shared a common interest in understanding the concepts, practices and applications of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). The working group was convened regularly with the support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to share information, discuss emerging topics and provide materials and information needed to enable a broad range of constituents to make informed, educated decisions about ITS.
Now in its 11th year, NAWG has evolved to become a formal committee for outreach and communications under the banner of the National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC). In its new role, NAWG has expanded its mission to include not only informing and educating national stakeholders on the concepts, practices and applications of ITS, but also to communicating the benefits of Transportation System Management and Operations (TSM&O) strategies to decision makers at the state and local level. Recognizing that ITS technologies are one of the valuable tools that supports good TSM&O, the NAWG members agreed that incorporating M&O and working under the NTOC was a necessary progression.
A major resource of NAWG is NTOC Talks, an online resource that is available through the NTOC Web site and via an e-newsletter that is e-mailed to subscribers every other Wednesday. NTOC Talks provides current news, insights and resources for transportation professionals and those interested in learning more about ITS technologies and TSM&O initiatives.
The NAWG selected the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), represented by Peggy Tadej, as the Chair association, and ITS America, represented by William Anderson, as the Vice Chair association.
The NAWG meets six to eight times a year in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.