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Volpe Journal 30th Anniversary - A Special Edition
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Over the years, the Volpe Center has fostered a culture of innovation, encouraging individuals to develop creative approaches and solutions to transportation and related societal issues. In 1970, when the former National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) Electronics Research Center was reopened as DOT's Transportation Systems Center, the onetime NASA employees were able to broaden their mission and to apply their scientific and engineering skills to the challenges of the entire transportation enterprise. At the same time a systems perspective was encouraged. The transfer of "space-age" technology to the mounting challenges of the country's transportation was the initial motivation in a 30-year path of innovation that has become the hallmark of the Volpe Center. As the national transportation system has evolved, so has the Center, remaining at the forefront of both technical and systems-oriented innovations. Early on, the Center's management realized that the real questions about transportation technologies had to do with their value to society, their practicality, and their economic viability, rather than simply their technical sophistication or excellence. As the skills needed to address national transportation problems began to change, the focus of the Center's workforce began to shift from primarily engineering and hard sciences to include other disciplines, such as economics, social science, psychology, information technology, and operations research. Today, the diverse work force continues to evolve to meet changing national priorities and client needs. In this way, the Center has been able to establish a tradition of providing leadership and rapid response to decision makers and organizations in defining problems and pursuing solutions that are necessary for advancing transportation in the 21st century. |
The current Volpe Center workforce represents a world-class transportation resource, with broad interdisciplinary and cross-modal technical and institutional expertise that is not replicated elsewhere. The Center places high value on critical thinking; this perspective has fostered an ability to transfer "lessons learned" across transportation modes. The flexible organizational structure at the Center promoted creative teamwork across disciplines long before working in teams became the norm in today's workplaces. Concurrently, the Volpe Center workplace has evolved to accommodate changing societal priorities and employee needs.
A History of Adapting to and Managing Change
Initially, the Volpe Center's staff was composed primarily of electrical and electronic systems engineers and physical scientists. The early addition of mechanical and civil engineering provided more traditional transportation engineering and analysis capabilities. This mix of skills and perspectives enabled the Center to carry out its mission: to address major issues that cut across the traditional modal structure of the transportation enterprise. According to Dr. Frank Tung, then an electrical engineer and today the Deputy Director of the Center, "We learned very quickly that we could not effectively solve our clients' problems without domain knowledge of transportation systems. We have evolved by integrating technical knowledge and transportation knowledge. This is what has always made the Volpe Center unique."
In the mid-1970s, socioeconomic research and analysis skills were added to the Center's skill mix. These capabilities quickly matured during the energy crisis, when the Center contributed to analysis of the automotive industry and the federal regulation of fuel efficiency.
In the 1980s, the Center supported DOT initiatives in transportation deregulation and in the planning and evaluation of mass transit technologies and service innovations.
With the advent of microcomputers in the late 1970s, the Center began transforming its information system and information technology (IS/IT) skills from the existing time-shared mainframe capabilities to the new PC technology. In the 1980s, the Center developed capabilities in logistics system engineering and expanded its program management and IS/IT capabilities.
In the 1980s, Dr. Richard John, now the Volpe Center's Director, saw an opportunity to expand the services offered by the Center to include strategic planning and analysis. The service he envisioned would apply careful planning and analysis to national transportation goals from a much broader perspective than was generally true of technical projects underway throughout the rest of the Center. In 1988, a new division, the Transportation Strategic Planning and Analysis Division, became the focal point for this type of long-term strategic thinking related to transportation and technology.
In the 1990s, the Center's client base continued to expand to include a broad range of other federal, state, and local agencies, as well as some international entities. To meet the requirements of these new clients, the Center expanded in three areas--environmental engineering and remediation, human factors, and physical and information security. In addition, as disciplines such as computer modeling and simulation have become more sophisticated, the Center's staff has expanded in these areas.
The Current Volpe Team
Nearly two-thirds of the Volpe Center's 550-member federal workforce is made up of technical professionals, many of whom have advanced degrees in disciplines such as engineering, physical and social science, economics, and information systems.
The Center's federal employees work with more than 900 contractor employees from major private-sector firms. In addition, the Center has extensive relationships with leading organizations in both industry and academia. The core permanent federal staff provides a breadth of technical, project management, and customer-relations skills. Every project is led by a permanent federal employee who forms teams of federal and, where appropriate, contractor staff. Using contractors enables the Center to adjust quickly to changes in the distribution of work areas, and to emerging needs.
Building and Maintaining a High-Quality Workforce
The Volpe Center recruits aggressively to ensure a diverse workforce, and invests heavily in training to make certain that employees possess the technical, administrative, and professional skills required of a highly productive 21st-century workforce. Innovative programs that focus on collaborative working relationships, professional development, and work-life balance help us attract and maintain high-quality staff.
In 1991, as part of the initiative to attract talented individuals into the federal transportation community, the Volpe Center established the "Gateway to Careers in Transportation" program to help rejuvenate research, engineering, and analysis efforts. Recent graduates from undergraduate and graduate school were recruited into this program, where they had an opportunity to experience working at the Center without making a long-term commitment. The recruitment effort involved Center staff in visits to a number of colleges and universities.
Collaborative Working Relationships
Several programs help the Volpe Center develop a diverse, adaptable workforce by integrating highly qualified graduate and postgraduate students with experienced, established staff and enabling the transfer of knowledge through collaborative working relationships. Recently, the Volpe Internship Program was established to honor the second Secretary of Transportation, John A. Volpe. (See the profile of John Volpe in this issue.) The internship offers major tuition assistance and paid work opportunities at the Center for outstanding graduate students in the engineering, scientific, and social science disciplines who are interested in transportation.
Twenty colleges and universities have agreements with the Co-op Program, which each year employs about 30 highly qualified students at the Center. Since the program started in 1970, many co-op students have converted to permanent positions. The internship and co-op programs not only give the Center access to an excellent pool of future professionals, but also give students the opportunity to serve their country and "make a difference" while working side-by-side with leaders and experts in transportation.
Two programs take advantage of the expertise of seasoned management and technical staff. The recently redesigned Mentoring Program pairs new employees with established employees. Also recently established, the Emeritus Program allows retirees to continue to work at the Center on a part-time basis, either on a schedule or as needs arise. These programs capture and disseminate the accumulated knowledge of the Center's technical and management leadership and create learning partnerships within and across the organization.
Professional Development
Because the Volpe Center is a knowledge-based organization, strong investment in learning and development is critical to success. A significant investment is made annually to pay for learning and development opportunities for Volpe staff.
In 1994, the Volpe Center Fellows Program was established to help build environmental expertise in-house; today, the program continues to support and enhance the Center's capabilities. It pays full tuition, fees, and book expenses for up to 10 employees each year who are enrolled in graduate or postgraduate degree programs that directly support the Center work areas, core disciplines, or long-range goals. In addition to the Fellows Program, all employees are encouraged to enhance their expertise through a wide variety of professional development opportunities. The Center reimburses tuition, travel, and related costs for approved training and education, and regularly offers core-competency/skill-development programs.
Balancing Work-Life Issues
Dramatic social changes have occurred in the last three decades. The Volpe Center has led much of the private sector and most government agencies in responding to these changes, modifying the work environment to accommodate its evolving workforce. For example, the Center has become more family friendly, providing access to an on-site child care center, job sharing, telecommuting, part-time employment, and flexible working hours. And the Volpe Center has committed to employee health and fitness with its Fitness Center and Wellness Program.
 Children of Volpe Center employees at the on-site child care center. |
Special emphasis programs have enabled the Center to benefit from a pool of well-qualified, nontraditional workers. During the last three years, 14 employees have been hired at the Center through the Welfare to Work program. The Center also makes a sustained effort to accommodate the needs of disabled workers and to utilize their knowledge and talents.
Serving the Community
 Volpe volunteer giving a book to a second grader at the Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School in Cambridge, Massachusetts as part of the end of the year celebration of the reading (Lunch Buddies) program. |
The Volpe Center's staff generously contributes to the local community. The campus is often opened to community groups and local youth, and each year the Center continues its tradition of more than 90 percent participation in the Combined Federal Campaign, the government's analogue to efforts like the United Way. And, as part of the Center's formal TEAM (Tutoring, Educating, and Mentoring) Effort, Volpe staff serve as volunteers in a variety of education activities in the City of Cambridge. For example, twice a month, more than 100 volunteers from the Volpe Center walk to the nearby Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School in Cambridge to spend a half-hour reading to second and third graders. At the Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, volunteers work with students on science and transportation-based activities; this involvement is designed to challenge and interest students not only in the transportation industry, but in all academic studies. Volpe Center employees have been volunteering their services to teach English as a Second Language for more than nine years. Students who enroll in this program originate from all over the world, from such countries as India, China, Russia, Haiti, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, Japan, and Korea. They all come to improve their language skills, which gives them opportunities for better jobs and a chance to integrate into American society. The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce has honored the Center with the Corporate Citizen of the Year Award.
These activities benefit both volunteers and program recipients by increasing mentoring skills; helping to prepare the future workforce; and transferring technology, information, and transportation career opportunities to others. The Volpe Center is now recognized as having one of the largest corporate volunteer programs in the City of Cambridge.