Submit webinar proposals by July 15, 2020.

Do you have an interesting idea for a webinar? Webinar proposals are open to anyone, but are due by midnight (Eastern time) on Wednesday, July 15, 2020. Please submit any webinars sponsored by TRB Standing Committees by this date. The deadline applies to webinars that TRB will host between September-December 2020.

Proposals received after July 15, 2020 may be considered for webinars between January-March 2021. Webinars that were previously submitted and declined may be submitted again with TRB’s suggested changes.

While webinar suggestions do need approval from Standing Committee chairs or co-chairs, anyone may submit webinar proposals, so please spread the word.

TRB will review forms and respond to proposers in August 2020 regarding scheduling the webinar, or will provide reasons why the proposal was not selected. Next, TRB will contact the listed panelists, coordinate schedules, and select dates for practice and live webinars. TRB will do its best to honor requested timeframes. We ask that webinar proposers do not schedule any specific date with their panelists before hearing from TRB staff.

Tips for successful webinar suggestions from Standing Committees:

Proposals that meet the following criteria have been selected and well received by webinar attendees:

1.   Focus on practical messages. On average, 60 percent of attendees are employed at state departments of transportation. Therefore, webinar proposals should target methods, techniques, and practices for on-the-job applications.

2.   Complete the full webinar form without placeholders. Do not use “to be determined” or placeholders for any information in the form. TRB will consider only completed webinar suggestion forms. Plan to spend at least 45 minutes on the proposal form.

3.   Receive approval of the proposal by Committee Chair. If the webinar proposal is organized by a TRB Standing Committee, then the chair must approve the proposal.

4.   Avoid proprietary information. Most TRB webinars provide credits for continuing education. If a proposal appears to be commercial in nature, it will not be eligible for education credits, and thus TRB is unlikely to accept it.

5.   Convert a successful live presentation into a webinar format. Some successful webinars have repackaged presentations from meetings, conferences, or sessions. However, if you choose to repackage a previous conference session as a webinar, it’s best to highlight one successful session from a conference rather than providing a broad overview of the entire conference. Attendees value specific, actionable information.

A committee or individual's past track record of organizing well-received webinars will also be considered. Committees who have not proposed webinars, particularly in the freight, rail, aviation, transit, marine, or pedestrian/bicycle topic areas, as well as those that focus on underserved populations, including those in rural and tribal areas, are encouraged to apply. 

To suggest more than one webinar, the Bulk Webinar Suggestion form may be submitted. Contact Elaine Ferrell at EFerrell@nas.edu to receive the Bulk Webinar Suggestion form.

Current TRB Standing Committee Chairs and all employees of state DOTs can register for webinars at no cost.

For questions, please contact Elaine Ferrell.