Partnering Activities
American Public Works Association (APWA)

The National Association of Transportation Technology Transfer Centers (now the National LTAP Association) and the American Public Works Association (APWA) seek through this agreement to strengthen the partnership between our organization. Our common purposes are to foster a safe, efficient, environmentally sound transportation system. Our common methods are to improve the skills and knowledge of local transportation providers through training, technical assistance and technology transfer.

We intend to do so by:

Working to identify ways to better serve local and tribal governments with street and highway responsibilities through collaborative education efforts.
Working together at both the national and at the level of individual APWA chapters and Local Technical Assistance (LTAP) centers and Tribal Technical Assistance (TTAP) Centers to improve the identification of common interests and issues relating to our collective involvement in transportation systems.

Further, it is understood that this partnering agreement is conceived as a living document, meant to change as circumstances and priorities warrant, that it is a beginning point and not a destination, and that the accompanying protocol detailing specific projects and activities that the national organizations will underrate is intended as an integral part of this understanding.

Further still, it is agreed that each signatory will appoint volunteer members to a joint task force which will monitor and review the implementation of the agreement from time to time and recommend amendment to the governing bodies of the respective associations as necessary and desirable.

It is also agreed that this partnering agreement will be institute for a period of one year, and it will be reviewed by both associations on its anniversary.

NLTAPA/APWA Protocol

This protocol identifies specific projects, activities and joint interests which the respective signatories have identified as initial steps and activities consistent with the goals and objectives established in the partnering agreement, and agree to pursue them in furtherance of the letter and spirit of the agreement, and to do so in accordance with the resources and priorities of the signatories.

Encourage the formation of partnerships between APWA Chapters and LTAP/TTAP Centers for the purpose of expanding the opportunities for education and training available to local transportation providers. To accomplish this, leadership of both organizations will write their respective Chapters or LTAP/TTAP Centers to: (1) urge them to meet with their local LTAP/TTAP Center or Chapter to discuss possible partnering projects (2) provide them with a directory of LTAP/TTAP Centers staff or APWA Chapter officers and (3) offer assistance form the national organization in the formation of partnerships at the local level by making staff available who have experience with successful partnering projects to mentor APWA Chapters or LTAP/TTAP Centers that need assistance in beginning to develop partnering projects. The following attachment suggests, but does not specify potential partnering projects for consideration by the individual APWA Chapter and LTAP/TTAP Centers.
Provide speakers at one another's regional and national meetings in 1998 to showcase successful efforts and promote partnerships between APWA Chapters and LTAP/TTAP Centers.
Collaborate in the development of education materials at the national level.

Attachment - Suggested Actions to Promote Partnering between LTAP/TTAP Centers and APWA Chapters

Individual LTAP or TTAP centers and APWA Chapters are free to choose any of the actions listed below which they consider appropriate for their partnerships or develop their own action items.

Develop a common cooperative approach or direction to address the needs of local transportation agencies in their respective areas.
Encourage the development and execution of a partnering agreement between the two organizations that includes an Action Plan detailing the specific activities and time frame to implement the partnership.
Appoint liaisons between the partners, one from each organization, to maintain lines of communication between the two organizations.
Invite members of one organization to serve on the other organization's advisory committees, review panels and other groups charged with assessing needs for designing and evaluating training and technology transfer programs.
Coordinate the scheduling of conferences and training sessions.
Provide speakers or trainers for one another's conferences and educational sessions.
Exchange information from their mailing lists.
Encourage the adoption of new technologies to foster a safer, more efficient and environmentally sound transportation system; for example, an APWA chapter hosting an LTAP demonstration of new technologies.
Exchange articles on topics of mutual interest for publication in one another's newsletters.

2004 Memorandum of Agreement

Action Points for 2004 for Partnership between the National Local Technical Assistance Program Association (NLTAPA) and the American Public Works Association (APWA)

January 11, 2004

Goal 1 - To stay familiar with each other's programs:

APWA to attend LTAP annual conference in August.
LTAP to attend APWA Congress in September.
Have discussion about how each group can participate meaningfully at these events.

Goal 2 - To help encourage growth and awareness of each other's programs:

LTAP to promote APWA programs to LTAP customers.
LTAP to submit one or two articles in 2004 about LTAP to Bridges (a publication for APWA chapter leaders) to highlight center/chapter partnerships.
LTAP to submit one or two articles in 2004 to the APWA Reporter (600-1200 words) to generally promote LTAP.
LTAP to submit a proposal for a "guaranteed session" for APWA Congress. There are 30 such sessions; each committee gets three. 9/30/04 is deadline for 2005 Congress.
LTAP (or APWA) to submit to the LTAP Clearinghouse an update on APWA/LTAP partnering activities for Inside LTAP and/or LTAP Journal.

Goal 3 - To participate in each other's programs or create joint programs:

APWA to invite LTAP to participate in developing APWA programs for local highway agencies. (Click, Listen & Learn is a current example.)
LTAP reps to submit letter of interest to serve on APWA committees (2/14 is deadline for submitting interest). Possible committees are transportation, operations, emergency management, and education.

Dwayne Kalynchuk, President, APWA Michael Blankenship, President, NLTAPA
by Marshall Elizer, Director at Large for Transportation, APWA