ITS America is pleased to announce the reorganization of its forums--volunteer-driven committees that serve as the focal point for dialogue and networking on the challenges and opportunities surrounding research and deployment of intelligent transportation systems (ITS).

Charged by ITS America’s board of directors to implement a new forum structure under the organization’s Coordinating Council that positions ITS as an essential ingredient to helping save lives, time and money and sustain the environment, the new forums focus on these outcomes our 21st century transportation system should embody.

Join ITS America at its Annual Meeting on June 1-3 at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center in suburban Washington, D.C., as they launch the new forums in a series of Forum Showcases that will introduce each forum, invite participation and develop an agenda for the coming year.

The five Forums will address Safety, Personal Mobility, Commercial Operations, Sustainability and Cross-cutting issues not easily embodied in one forum.

The forums and the Coordinating Council overseeing and facilitating their efforts will:

• Be technology champions of ITS America;
• Advance the vision of ITS research and deployment for the society;
• Foster active engagement of ITS America membership and selected external groups;
• Initiate technical activities that further the ITS America strategic plan; and
• Work closely with ITS America’s Policy and Business Council to coordinate policy/technology conversations.

Each Forum is in the process of identifying committees--smaller ad hoc or standing groups that concentrate on specific ITS challenges, needs or opportunities. Many of these committees are already in place and have played a longstanding role in ITS America, tackling a range of issues from rural and public transit to information, weather and training and education. These groups will help provide the backbone for the new outcome-focused forums and complement emerging conversations in the ITS arena that promote greater understanding of the evidence that ITS makes a difference in the performance of our transportation systems.