Hello newsletter readers,

NCMM is proud to announce the release of the 2021 Community Mobility Design Challenge grants. In this planning grant opportunity, NCMM staff work directly with selected communities throughout the human-centered design process, leading to the development of an innovative mobility solution serving their community's target population. For an inside look into the process of this grant, consider this blog post from a 2019 Community Mobility Design Challenge grantee team lead. You can find out more information within the newsletter, including how to register for this week's pre-application webinar. We're excited to review your submitted applications!

As we've discussed in previous newsletters and promoted with our "Mobilizing Transit and Public Health Partnerships" webinar series, mobility management professionals and transportation providers have shown their creativity during the pandemic. From operating as the call center for vaccine appointments, to providing free transportation to vaccination clinics, to using transit facilities to distribute vaccines, to allowing for vaccinations on buses, the nation and the Federal Transit Administration have made note of our field's contributions. It's time to apply the new relationships and activities we have developed to future services. A good launching point is the upcoming NCMM webinar, "The Future of Mobility Management Post-COVID" in which three providers of varying geographic backgrounds will share lessons learned in their locality. See registration information below. 

Finally, NCMM is launching its "survey of the month," designed to ask you, our audience, how helpful our tools are for you. This month's survey focuses on our advanced search engine, which allows you to search a topic across all of our offerings - from our Daily News to our webinars and beyond - as well as those of the other FTA-funded TA centers! Access this three-question survey here; your input is invaluable to us.

Stay well,

Kirby Wilhelm

(202) 489-6020

The National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM), supported by the Federal Transit Administration, is now accepting applications for its Community Mobility Design Challenge 2021 grant. These grants will support communities in creating innovative mobility solutions for community members who face transportation barriers in advancing their personal well-being. Grants of up to $25,000 will be available as well as NCMM facilitation through the entire process. You can learn more about the grants and download the application here. The deadline for responses is July 12, 2021, 11:59 p.m., ET. Join us for a pre-application webinar on Thursday, May 27 at 1:00 p.m., ET. We will cover the key activities of the grant, review the application process, and discuss key elements of human-centered design and ethnographic interviewing. Register here.

Join us for "The Future of Mobility Management Post-COVID" on Wednesday, May 26, 3- 4:30 p.m., ET. During this webinar, open to all, you will hear from three mobility management professionals coming from a diverse range of backgrounds and geographical locations. Each will share insights, expertise, and experiences on the current state of mobility management, challenges faced in the wake of the COVID pandemic, and what the future of coordinated transportation will look like across suburban, urban, rural and tribal areas following the restoration and stabilization of human-centered transportation services post COVID. 

NCMM's COVID-19 Resource page is the place to find information focused on the role mobility managers can play in furthering COVID-19 vaccination efforts. You can access quick links to FTA and CDC COVID-19 resources, as well as view NCMM's frequently updated table presenting over 55 examples of transit agencies' involvement in local vaccination efforts.

Of note, is the new Practical Vaccine Partnership Examples brief series, with three agency's experiences showcased in easily digestible one-page briefs. You can visit the latest brief focused on the North Carolina Department of Transportation here.

NCMM was recently contacted by human service organizations whose work focuses on services for immigrants. Immigrants who may be released from U.S. detention centers are sometimes not provided information about transportation resources to support their access to community services. Under our Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM) work, we hope to bring together professionals associated with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) with mobility managers to build relationships and establish educational programs so immigrants will have the information they need about mobility resources. If you work with ICE, and or USBP colleagues in your community, or they are part of your mobility management or coordination work, please share your practices with NCMM staff Judy Shanley or Brandon Roccio.

Mobility management professionals will have a double-header Tuesday, Nov. 9, at this year's CTAA EXPO, which will be in person! In the morning, you are invited to a half-day Mobility Management Forum from 9-11:30 a.m. The morning session will feature two panel presentations: one in which former NCMM grantees talk about the value human-centered design techniques have brought to their work, and the other in which practitioners discuss technological innovations in transportation. Register for EXPO 2021 in Richmond, Va., here. .

In the afternoon, from 2-5 p.m., mobility management practitioners will join other transportation professionals for an "unconference" on Mobility Innovation. For this session, the attendees drive the agenda-bringing forth issues they would like to learn and share with others in three fast-paced 50-minute sessions.

If you have suggestions for other presentations or workshop content, please email them to Amy Conrick.

Begin preparing now to showcase a poster of your work on the CTAA EXPO Trade Show Floor. The poster sessions give mobility management practitioners a chance to shine, sharing their innovative practices in an informal setting with all EXPO attendees. $500 scholarships will be provided to all accepted poster presenters. 

The Transportation Technical Assistance Coordination Library (TACL) provides a sustainable methodology and platform for access and findability of coordination resources across a diverse range of transportation technical assistance centers and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

The FTA-funded technical assistance centers participating in this ongoing work are:

The TACL Task Force uses a systematic review process for resources included in this database.  Visit TACL and its resources here.

The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) is recruiting 2021-2023 TCRP Ambassadors from the public transportation community to share information about TCRP products and results at industry events and with transit providers. Applications are due by May 28, 2021.

The Transit Planning 4 All project, funded by the Dept. of Human Services' Administration for Community Living, will be hosting a webinar on Tuesday, June 8 at 4 p.m., EDT, focused on rural on-demand and demand responsive transit solutions. The webinar will feature Valerie Lefler of Feonix-Mobility Rising and Kevin Chambers of Full Path Transit Technology discussing their experiences with related rural transit services.

FTA funded eight Rides to Wellness demonstration projects in 2016 to identify and test promising, replicable public transportation healthcare access solutions that support increased access to healthcare, improved health outcomes, and reduced healthcare costs.

You can download the recently released program evaluation report here to learn more about the successes of the demonstration projects funded under the Rides to Wellness program.

The National Center for Applied Transit Technology (N-CATT) is now accepting applications for transit agencies to receive one-on-one technical assistance through the Center's Innovative Technology Strike Teams. N-CATT will work with up to three transportation providers to navigate a technology challenge or opportunity that results in a useful starting product for the agency, such as an implementation plan or ready-to-go technology solicitation. The application deadline, June 9, is fast approaching so apply soon. 

N-CATT has two upcoming workshop series open for registration. 

The first is a four-workshop data management series, titled "Collecting, Managing, and Making Decisions from Data to Evaluate KPIs" in partnership with Enterprise Knowledge (EK). It is directed toward Transit Agency Managers who create and/or consume data and will directly address existing and improved data management practices through customized, hands-on activities, primers, and facilitation techniques to meet participants' specific needs. You can find out more information here.

The second is a two-section workshop titled "Digital Tools to Facilitate System Redesigns Workshop." There will be separate sections for public transit agency staff and decision makers focusing on formulating an approach for a redesign and another session for more technical transit agency staff (service planners, GIS analysts, etc.) that will provide opportunities for hands-on exploration of tools that can support a redesign approach. To find out more about the workshop and to register, go here.

The guidebook on adopting green energy will help non-engineers understand the considerations agencies should make to set up systems for success. Read the guidebook here.

The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation, invites your participation in the 16th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Older Adults and People with Disabilities (TRANSED), themed Inclusive and Accessible Transportation in Community and Regional Resilience, to be held September 2022 in Seattle, Wash.

Abstracts can be submitted for presentations until the May 31 deadline. TRANSED 2022 abstracts as a paper, poster and/or slideshow. Abstracts of these must be submitted by 31 May 2021 and may cover core research, practical experiences, or policy issues. To find out more about the conference and abstract submission process, visit the TRANSED 2022 webpage.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the availability of funds to develop multisector action plans that address the social determinants of health (SDOH) by accelerating action in state, local, territorial, and tribal jurisdictions that lead to improved chronic health conditions among Americans experiencing health disparities and inequality.

The Community Transportation Association of America's (CTAA) 2021 EXPO to originally take place in Richmond, Virginia on June 14-17 has been rescheduled for Nov. 7-11, 2021. All already purchased registrations will be honored for the new dates. In this upcoming EXPO, a variety of training sessions will be offered, as well as the popular trade show event - showcasing the latest community transportation goods and services.

Check out this video of the vibrancy of one of NYC's open streets. If you have something similar in your community (or working on it), let us know about it! 

Send your transportation photos, videos, and infographics to the NCMM at [email protected].

Mobility Management News is the newsletter of the National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM), which is operated jointly by the Community Transportation Association, the American Public Transportation Association and Easter Seals under a cooperative agreement with the Federal Transit Administration.