Building the Future of Transportation: Impacts Report 2023

Performance Measures: Champion Knowledge Transfer and Education

CTS annually gathers performance measures data to quantify our impacts in effecting changes that improve transportation. Below, key measures from FY23 showcase our work related to one of CTS's three Areas of Excellence: Champion Knowledge Transfer and Education.

Professional Education and Student Engagement Funding

Although funding did dip this year, the decrease was anticipated and the FY23 target was met. All funding for operational programming was secured, new funding was brought in through our customized training program, and more revenue than anticipated was collected for training courses and summer camps.

We expect the three-year target to surpass revenues in the past five years due to increased funding for the Minnesota LTAP program, the addition of new courses through a revamped onsite training program, and a focused effort to expand the reach of our professional education programming.

FY23 Analysis

Practitioners continued to turn to CTS as a trusted provider of quality training FY23. The Roads Scholar Program saw a record-high number of graduates, and participation in training courses remained high despite fewer courses being offered. Engagement with University students began to rebound this year, although it does continue to be variable—we see higher engagement with in-person opportunities. Additionally, in-person K-12 programming returned for the first time since FY20, leading to significant success in outreach efforts with young students.

FY24 Outlook

Based on priorities identified in the CTS Workforce Development Strategic Plan, several areas will see growth in FY24 as a result of additional investments. Staff will prioritize efforts to strengthen relationships with undergraduate and graduate students, with the eventual goal of establishing CTS as a “home base” for students pursuing transportation careers at the University. New funding, a revitalized set of training courses, and a strategic effort to identify and engage with new audiences will also spur growth and visibility for professional education programming.

FY23 continued as another strong year for customized training and technical assistance programming. Participation remained on par with last year despite a reduction in availability of onsite training courses due to a staff retirement. Programming continues to evolve, and in the next three years we anticipate an increase in participation due to focused staff effort to reach new audiences, a revitalized onsite training program, the addition of new online courses, and increased federal funding allocated to the Minnesota LTAP program.

University of Minnesota student engagement has begun to rebound from the COVID-19 decline seen over the past few years. Students continue to participate in higher numbers at in-person events, and the return of more in-person and hybrid engagement opportunities has grown this number. CTS has created a new workforce development strategic plan that emphasizes growing outreach efforts to University of Minnesota students; we anticipate this work leading to increased University student engagement with CTS.