Center Mission, Vision and Objectives

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) defines the work of every LTAP Center through four focus areas:

  • Safety – improve awareness and increase implementation of best practices in roadway and worker safety.
  • Infrastructure Management – hasten the implementation of best practices in planning, design, construction, maintenance, management, and operations of the surface transportation system.
  • Workforce Development – help stakeholders attract, retain, and retrain a knowledgeable and skilled transportation workforce.
  • Organizational Excellence – endeavor to deliver efficient services to stakeholders through the effective management of organizational resources, striving for continuous improvement.

The mission of the Florida Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) is guided by these focus areas as directed by FHWA, and attention to each is vital to the success of the Florida LTAP. The mission of the Florida LTAP Center is to improve the skills and increase knowledge of the local and tribal transportation workforce through training, technical assistance, and technology transfer to foster a safe, efficient, and environmentally-sound surface transportation system.

The vision of the Florida LTAP Center is to be recognized as a premier resource in providing training and technical assistance to local agencies and transferring innovative technologies, proven solutions, and reliable service to successfully address and meet the needs of local transportation communities in Florida.

History and Background

FHWA established LTAP in the 1980s to help local agencies increase the quality and safety of their surface transportation system. Technology transfer centers in the US, many housed at universities, develop their own procedures for transferring information to effectively address the needs of the localities they serve. Funding for each center is awarded through a competitive federal aid process and requires support from state departments of transportation, federal funds, local agencies, and universities. Each center enables local agencies to increase transportation expertise at the local level. LTAPs exist to provide localities with access to materials prepared at the national level and promote the effective use of research findings and innovations for improving transportation at the local level. Workshops and other professional development opportunities are provided by LTAP centers to local agencies as a way to help them effectively manage their local transportation programs.

The Florida LTAP Center is part of a national initiative to transfer transportation technology through training, technical assistance, and other customer services to local governments and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). The University of Florida Transportation Technology Transfer (T2) Center oversaw the Florida LTAP from 1984-2018; during that time, it evolved into a valuable resource for local agencies statewide with the ability to collaborate with other state centers to increase the available resources. Since July 2018, oversight of the Florida LTAP has transitioned to the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida and continues to serve local agencies throughout the state by providing state-of-the-art training, technical assistance, and other types of support.