Case Study: Transportation Research Board achieves broader engagement and secures nearly $9M in funded airport research with IdeaScale

Prioritizing Research that Defines the Future of Airports

The Transportation Research Board (TRB), a program of the National Academies that delivers research-based solutions for transportation, needed to broaden and streamline participation in its Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP). Historically only a few dozen people contributed research ideas, so TRB sought a way to make it easier for stakeholders to propose, refine, and justify problem statements that could win funding.

TRB launched IdeaHub, a web-based IdeaScale platform that lets registered users submit ideas, collaborate, vote, comment, track progress, and connect with subject-matter experts who refine statements into fundable requests for proposals. The crowd-driven process and in-person SME development greatly increased engagement—from dozens to hundreds of contributors—and led to 26 ideas being flagged for implementation with nearly $9 million in funding for projects ranging from airport governance and human factors to blockchain applications and electric aircraft planning.

Transportation Research Board

Mike Salamone

ACRP Research Manager