Professional Organizations & Associations

American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
The web site of state DOT professionals, this site has useful information on AASHTO meetings and events, special services and members, and publications. Online viewing of the AASHTO Quarterly and the weekly AASHTO journal is available, although neither is indexed.

AASHTO Councils on Transportation Finance Policy and Fiscal Management & Accounting
The mission of the AASHTO Councils on Transportation Finance Policy and Fiscal Management and Accounting are to successfully address the challenges that lie ahead for the nation's transportation future, the Subcommittee is encouraged to consider promoting the following three transportation finance goals: advance the development of stable sources of transportation funding at both the federal and state levels; promote flexible fund sources that allow states to apply them to changing conditions with a minimum of federal intervention or permissiveness; and promote innovative financing and project delivery mechanisms that attract private investment in transportation.

American Consulting Engineers Council (ACEC)
Provides upcoming conference information and online registration, brief online coverage of legislative and regulatory initiatives, and professional information on licensing, management, and business trends.

American Economic Association
This organization encourages economic research, especially the historical and statistical study of the actual conditions of industrial life. The web site includes publications and information on committees, annual meetings and membership.

American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Provides online information to both clients and architecture professionals. Use the site to find a local architect based on a project type, or to keep abreast of career development and professional news for architects.

American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)
Provides an online library and bookstore with many steel industry manuals, reports and guides available for download. The site also connects to Engineering Journal, where current abstracts are online and an index (1964 to present) lists articles by topic.

American Planning Association (APA)
Contains numerous resources for planners, including online abstracts and indexes from professional publications like the Journal of American Planning Association and Zoning News. Also available are an online bookstore, discussions of legislative and policy issues, and conference notices.

American Public Transit Association (APTA)
The American Public Transit Association uses advocacy, innovation, and information to strengthen and expand public transportation. Its website is chaotic, but it provides a wealth of information about the organization and its services, as well as public transit statistics, conference calendars and discussions of legislative and policy issues.

American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)
American Road and Transportation Builders Association represents the transportation construction industry in national legislative affairs. At this site, find plentiful coverage of legislative and regulatory events and ARTBA's reactions to them. The site also names contacts for member chapters, and free registration gives site members access to even more coverage of national transportation affairs, business opportunities, and more.

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional society that promotes excellence in engineering and provides online subscriber access to a wide range of professional engineering journals. It is possible to browse current and past issues by Table of Contents, and a search engine provides access to indexed articles. An online bookstore, civil engineering database promises electronic retrieval of all ASCE publications since 1973.

Design Build Institute of America (DBIA)
DBIA mission is to improve the level of practice of design-build project delivery on a continuing basis; to disseminate educational information; and to furnish advice and support to facility owners and users. DBIA organizes frequent conferences and seminars on different aspects of design-build delivery and also has a wide variety of useful publications. The DBIA web site is one of the best sources of comprehensive information on design-build project delivery.

European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations
EFECA is the federation representing engineering consultancy and related services across Europe. It lobbies European institutions regarding directives and regulations affecting the work of engineering consultancy and related services. The site includes archived issues of Euro News and the EFCA bulletin, but no index to topics. Information on various EFCA committees, including the Project Finance task force, is available.

FedWorld Information Network
FedWorld was established to serve as the online locator service for a comprehensive inventory of information disseminated by the Federal Government. FedWorld offers a comprehensive central access point for searching, locating, ordering and acquiring government and business information. Can search web pages on the Fedworld network or for US government reports that are available for purchase online. Full text databases of US Supreme Court decisions and Customs documents are presented, as well as meta-databases that direct you to data sources.

Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) is a member association of traffic engineers, transportation planners and other transportation professionals. The association is widely known for its trip and parking generation publications. The group also publishes ITE Journal, available on the web to ITE members, though nonmembers can browse tables of contents. Washington Weekly covers US transportation legislation and budget actions, proposed and final transportation rulemakings, and transportation issues from around the world, but full text is available to members only. The site provides a searchable index of past ITE Journal articles, and the general site search function returns several hits on innovative finance. The site also provides the full text of FHWA's Innovative Finance.

ITS America
Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) aims to foster public/private partnerships to increase the safety and efficiency of surface transportation through the application of advanced technologies. ITS America was mandated by the US Congress in 1991 to coordinate the development and deployment of ITS in the United States. The website contains a list of and links to private and public sector members. Its search function returns mostly news releases from member companies and organizations, but some technical documents are available.

International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineers (IABSE)
The International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineers promotes the exchange of knowledge and the advancement of the practice of structural engineering worldwide. It organizes conferences, congresses, symposia, colloquia, workshops and seminars, by itself and with other organizations. At the website are tables of contents of the quarterly journal Structural Engineering International, as well as links to reports and articles published by IABSE.

International Bridge, Tunnel, and Turnpike Association (IBTTA)
IBTTA is a worldwide alliance of toll operators and associated industries that provide a forum for sharing knowledge and ideas to promote and enhance toll-financed transportation services. A wide variety of useful information is available on the IBTTA Website.

International Road Federation (IRF)
The International Road Federation is a not-for-profit, non-political service organization.
Its purpose and continuing objective is to encourage better road and transportation systems worldwide and to help apply technology and management practices which will give maximum economic and social returns from national road investments. It maintains a comprehensive Website with useful information on programs, events, and industry news.

National Tax Association
This organization focuses on the impact of taxation on public and private goods and addresses finance issues. The organization publishes a quarterly journal of research.

Transportation Research Board (TRB)
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is a division of the National Research Council, which serves as an independent adviser to the federal government and others on scientific and technical questions of national importance. The National Research Council is jointly administered by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board—one of six major divisions of the National Research Council—is to promote innovation and progress in transportation through research. In an objective and interdisciplinary setting, the Board facilitates the sharing of information on transportation practice and policy by researchers and practitioners; stimulates research and offers research management services that promote technical excellence; provides expert advice on transportation policy and programs; and disseminates research results broadly and encourages their implementation.

TRB Taxation and Finance Committee
The mission of the TRB Taxation and Finance Committee is to meet the financial planning and financing necessary to meet transportation needs of all modes, including sources of revenue, allocation of costs among users and nonusers, pricing policies, needs studies, economic and social effects of taxes and subsidy programs, intergovernmental financial arrangements and responsibilities for transportation, and accounting and fiscal management of transportation funds.

The World Road Association (PIARC)
PIARC is a global association of public sector agencies and private industry involved in road infrastructure planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation. PIARC is headquartered in Paris and was founded in 1909. PIARC has 97 national or federal government members, 2,000 collective or individual members in 129 countries, and over 750 experts in 20 standing Technical Committees. The official languages of PIARC are French and English. PIARC organizes bi-annual world conferences (the next will be in Durban, South Africa in 2003) and maintains an active Economics and Finance Committee comprised of international surface transport finance experts. A comprehensive listing of PIARC publications is available on its Website.