Public Engagement Workshops

The U.S. DOT Office of the Secretary’s Office of Public Engagement is organizing a series of three in-person public involvement workshops in different locations across the country, between April and July 2024. The workshops will engage transportation practitioners on ways to deliver opportunities for meaningful public engagement, as well as community leaders and members of the public on the transportation decision-making processes and how stakeholders can ensure their voices are heard.

The workshops will include a plenary session about making equitable transportation decisions and will contain breakout sessions and small-group activities focused on highlighting meaningful public engagement strategies in transportation planning.

Community leaders will learn how their involvement can make a difference in the transportation system in their communities, while transportation professionals will learn how to deliver meaningful public engagement activities that influence transportation decisions and empower communities to:

• Effectively engage in transportation decisions 
• Promote equity and civil rights in projects
• Build strong partnerships with community leaders

The content in these workshops is based on the following U.S. DOT documents:

• Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-Making: This guide provides promising practices which can promote a shared understanding of meaningful public involvement. It is intended to support practitioners in all modes of transportation in various roles, including those working in policy, planning, engineering, operations, civil rights, environmental justice, and public involvement. 
• Transportation Decision-Making: A Guide to Getting Involved: This guide provides community leaders and the public with an overview of the transportation decision-making process and provides information about how to get involved to make a difference in transportation in your community.

WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

Sessions are scheduled from 8:15 AM – 4:45 PM (local time). 

8:15 AM | Welcome and Registration
9:45 AM | Opening Plenary
10:45 AM | Morning Breakout Session
1:15 PM | Afternoon Breakout Session
3:00 PM | Panel Discussion
4:15 PM | Closing Plenary
4:45 PM | Adjourn

Program is subject to change.

Registration is free and on a first-come, first-served basis; space is limited. We can only accommodate one person per organization except in limited cases.

SCHEDULE

The US Department of Transportation is committed to providing equal access to this meeting for all participants. If you would like to request reasonable accommodations such as American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, language translation or interpretation, captioning (CART services), other accommodations or alternative formats, please indicate so on your registration form or contact Mirna Providence with your request at least 5 business days prior to the scheduled event.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to Jared Fijalkowski at the US DOT Volpe Center.