NJ State Transportation Innovation Council (STIC)
What is STIC?
The State Transportation Innovation Council (STIC) National Network was born out of Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Every Day Counts program. The program helps state DOTs identify and rapidly deploy proven, yet underutilized innovations to shorten project delivery, enhance safety, reduce congestion, and improve environmental sustainability. Each state’s STIC is charged with establishing a process in which ideas, innovative techniques and processes can be evaluated and implemented quickly and proficiently.
Who are STIC members?
NJ’s STIC members are a cross-section of various stakeholders, state and federal agencies, local governments, academia and industry partners that work together to forge an environment of innovation, imagination and ingenuity to pursue specific initiatives and their rapid implementation to deliver a modern and high quality transportation system to the Garden State. The NJ STIC meets quarterly at the NJDOT Headquarters to discuss innovation deployments, progress updates on innovative initiatives, and suggestions for additional initiatives moving forward.
Innovative ideas are solicited from members, other transportation professionals, as well as the general public. The ideas then go through the Innovative Advisory Team’s (IAT) vetting process that involves screening, prioritizing, and making a final decision as to whether the idea will be assigned to one of the Core Innovation Areas (CIAs) for deployment: Infrastructure Preservation, Mobility & Operations, Organizational Support & Improvement, Planning & Environment, and Safety.
The STIC Program has led to several innovative accomplishments worthy of appreciation, including:
The purchase of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) with the goal of developing guidance and specifications for bridge inspection and traffic incident monitoring.
“Road Diets” implemented in Mercer and Passaic County to enhance safety, mobility and access and a “complete streets” environment. NJDOT received the 2017 National Roadway Safety Award for their Roundabout Implementation Program
Mission
The mission of New Jersey’s State Transportation Innovation Council (NJ STIC) is to identify, evaluate, and rapidly deploy new technologies and process improvements that will accelerate project delivery and improve the safety and quality of transportation in New Jersey.
Outreach & Coordination
The STIC program seeks to identify and rapidly deploy proven, yet underutilized innovations to shorten project delivery, enhance safety, reduce congestion, and improve environmental sustainability. The FHWA and members of NJ STIC’s Executive and Innovation Advisory Teams conduct outreach and coordination activities from time-to-time to raise awareness of the STIC Program and Every Day Counts program and highlight innovative practices with various stakeholders from state and federal agencies, regional and local governments, industry and academia.
STIC Membership
- NJDOT Commissioner (Agency Sponsor)
- NJDOT Deputy Commissioner (Agency Sponsor)
- FHWA Division Administrator (Agency Sponsor)
- FHWA Assistant Division Administrator (FHWA Operational Executive Lead)
- FHWA EDC Coordinator (FHWA Operational Executive Team Lead)
- NJDOT Assistant Commissioner, Statewide Planning, Safety, and Capital Investment (NJDOT
- Operational Executive Lead)
- NJDOT Assistant Commissioner, Administration
- NJDOT Assistant Commissioner, Capital Program Management
- NJDOT Assistant Commissioner, Local Resources and Community Development
- NJDOT Assistant Commissioner, Operations
- NJDOT Chief Financial Officer
- NJDOT Government and Community Relations
- County Representative(s)
- Municipal Representative(s)
- North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA)
- Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC)
- South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO)
- Construction Industry Representative – Utility & Transportation Contractors Association (UTCA)
- Consulting Industry Representative – American Council of Engineering Companies of NJ (ACEC)
- NJ Local Transportation Assistance Program (NJ LTAP) Representative
- University Representative(s)
NJ STIC members attend meetings to review innovations proposed and advanced by the Core Innovation Area (CIA) Teams as well as to suggest new ideas that the NJ STIC may want to consider for investigation. NJ STIC members ensure that they are coordinating with the partners and stakeholders that they represent. For example, the Municipal Representative would be coordinating with the other municipalities in New Jersey.
The NJ STIC considers CIA Team proposals and makes recommendations subject to approval of NJDOT and FHWA sponsor support. Innovations that can be implemented outside the purview of NJ DOT, such those undertaken at the county and municipal level, should be shared with other local governments by their respective STIC members.
The NJ STIC will endeavor to meet three times per year.
Core Innovation Area Teams (CIA Teams)
The NJ STIC will utilize CIA Teams to generate, investigate, evaluate, develop and implement innovation proposals for the NJ STIC to consider.
The CIA Teams are organized to address the innovation initiatives advanced through the FHWA Every Day Counts (EDC program) and currently are as follows:
- Infrastructure Preservation Team
- Mobility and Operations Team
- Organizational Support and Improvement Team
- Planning and Environment Team
- Safety Team
Each CIA Team will have an FHWA lead and an NJDOT lead appointed by the NJ STIC Executive Team. These leads will report to the NJ STIC at each NJ STIC meeting or additionally as the CIA Team or NJ STIC deems necessary. The CIA Team leads will determine the members of their team and will ensure inclusive representation from federal, state, and local government, academia, and industry.
The CIA Teams depend on the active involvement of implementation team members who can serve as effective champions for the advancement of the innovation initiatives selected for deployment. The CIA Team leads will seek organizational leadership support from the NJ STIC Executive Team to identify champions with requisite subject matter expertise and to secure needed staffing, training and the commitment of other technical and financial assistance resources to meet deployment goals.
NJ STIC Executive Team
The NJ STIC Executive Team’s mission is to administer the business of the NJ STIC. The NJ STIC Executive Team will schedule NJ STIC meetings, set NJ STIC meeting agendas, summarize meetings, and coordinate with CIA Teams to report activities and proposals to the NJ STIC, as well as to communicate with agency sponsors as required. The NJ STIC Executive Team will also coordinate with the Innovation Advisory Team. The NJ STIC Executive Team will include the Assistant Commissioner, Statewide Planning, Safety and Capital Investment as well as the FHWA Assistant Division Administrator and FHWA EDC Coordinator.
The NJ STIC Executive Team will advise and recommend to the Agency Sponsors on the structure and composition of the NJ STIC and its associated teams. The NJ STIC Executive Team will maintain this Charter. The NJ STIC Executive Team will solicit proposals for innovation funding programs, such as the NJ STIC Incentive Grant Program and Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Program. These proposals will be solicited from NJ STIC members, CIA Teams, the Innovation Advisory Team, and the NJ transportation community at large. The NJ STIC Executive Team will make recommendations to the Agency Sponsors on how the NJ STIC Incentive Program funds are used.
Innovation Advisory Team
The Innovation Advisory Team (IAT) is a group of NJDOT staff, FHWA staff and outside agency representatives, as deemed appropriate, whose role is to assist the Executive Team in reviewing innovation ideas collected through various avenues. Ideas will be determined as worthy of further investigation by a CIA Team or determined to be not feasible at this time. The IAT will also serve as a feedback body on NJ STIC processes for the purpose of assisting the body to better meet its innovation deployment goals. The IAT includes CIA Team liaisons as well as other pertinent FHWA and NJ DOT staff.
In addition to the CIA Team liaisons, the IAT will be comprised of representatives from across NJDOT and NJ STIC stakeholder agencies. The NJ STIC Executive Team will add members to the IAT as deemed appropriate. The following is a sample list of IAT members:
- Administration
- Civil Rights and Affirmative Action
- Transportation Operations and Systems Support
- Transportation Mobility
- Capital Program Management (Highway and Traffic Design, Capital Program Support, Project
- Management, Infrastructure Management, Construction and Materials)
- Statewide Planning, Safety and Capital Investment (Statewide Planning, Statewide Strategies,
- Research, Capital Investment and Program Coordination, Safety, Transportation Data)
- Local Resources and Community Development (Local Aid, Environmental Resources, Project Planning)
- FHWA NJ Division Office
Meetings
NJ STIC Communications Plan
New Jersey’s STIC, as with other STICs, is charged with establishing a process by which ideas, innovative techniques and processes can be evaluated and implemented quickly and proficiently.
In recent years, a growing toolbox of communications strategies has been used to increase awareness of the Every Day Counts Program and to support the NJ STIC in its mission to foster a culture favorable to exploring and advancing innovations in transportation.
The purpose of the NJ STIC Communications Plan is to improve the effectiveness of the NJ STIC through continuing communications and engagement with STIC stakeholders at the local, regional, and state levels, as well as external stakeholders like industry and academia. The Plan describes communication tools, methods and strategies that will be used to document performance, capture and share information on innovative initiatives, and promote implementation of these initiatives throughout the State.
Click here to access the NJ STIC Communications Plan.
The NJ STIC Communications Plan was funded in part by a STIC Incentive Funding Grant and prepared on behalf of the NJDOT Bureau of Research – the administrative lead for the management of the NJ STIC.
Got Ideas?
Got research or innovative ideas or other thoughts that could help improve transportation in New Jersey? Share your ideas with us on the NJ Transportation Ideas Portal.
