The University of Oregon has developed a catalytic learning model that simultaneously meets the needs of both the next generation’s transportation workforce and cities looking for innovative and catalytic ways to advance a new era of transportation goals. Named the Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP), the model links local community priorities (as expressed through local plans and city council goals) with courses from a range of disciplines at a nearby university. The UO program engages 500+ multidisciplinary students annually in providing 60,000+ hours of work to city-identified projects using the existing administrative systems of both universities and local communities.
This NITC technology transfer project assisted in the national dissemination of the SCYP model through a specific set of strategies and resources. These tools included turning training content into webinars and videos to communicate content virtually, disseminating training content through targeted on-site events, hosting a national training conference, and creating a searchable catalog platform of transportation projects from all the programs now running a version of SCYP at their universities. This project has catalyzed the creation of three new programs specifically (University of South Florida, University of Colorado Denver, and Western Washington University) and has provide helpful tools that have significantly increased the capacity of universities to access high-quality SCYP training material for their own future program development.