Call for Presentations: 2025 National Regional Transportation Conference

Conference organizers are seeking presentation abstracts to be considered for the 2025 National Regional Transportation Conference, which will occur July 15 - July 17, 2025 in Des Moines, IA.

This conference emphasizes peer learning for regional planning practitioners and their partners. As a result, presentation abstracts are especially sought from individuals affiliated with regional planning and economic development organizations (RDOs), regional transportation planning organizations (RTPOs/RPOs), smaller MPOs, rural or small metro transit agencies, or organizations partnering with them. In addition, state DOT staff; federal agency staff; national organizations; and researchers or consultants working on projects in collaboration with RTPOs, small MPOs, or local agencies are encouraged to participate.

Please submit abstracts by March 20.

Abstracts should describe a potential presentation on a topic related to rural and small metro transportation planning or delivery, especially at the regional level. Depending on the topic, presentations of around 20 minutes are typically grouped in 60- to 90-minute panels. However, presenters may be invited to participate in alternative session formats as well.

If you are a trainer or technical assistance provider with an idea for a longer workshop or alternative format session, contact NADO staff directly before using this form.

Any organization may submit an abstract, but abstracts that market specific products, vendors, or services will not be accepted, and those organizations should consider exhibiting during the conference instead.

Speakers whose presentations are selected should expect to pay the early bird registration fee and their own travel expenses. Travel scholarships are generally not available.

For more information, contact Carrie Kissel at ckissel@nado.org. To view an agenda or materials from a previous conference as a sample of typical session content, click here.

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* 1. Proposed Presentation Title

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* 2. Topic Areas (such as safety, livability, community engagement, freight, corridors, finance, economic development, transit, electric vehicle infrastructure, transportation infrastructure resilience, bike/ped, technology, planning methods, GIS applications, etc.)

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* 3. Presentation description. Include an overview of the initiative or work your presentation will cover and the learning objectives that attendees will expect to gain from your presentation.

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* 4. Primary presenter

First name

Last name

Title

Organization

Address

City

State

Zip

Phone number

Cell phone (for contact during conference if needed)

Website

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* 5. Co-presenter or additional contact (if applicable)

First name

Last name

Title

Organization

Address

City

State

Zip

Phone number

Cell phone (for contact during conference if needed)

Website

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* 6. Additional information, such as other contact information, direct URL to project website or other content described in abstract, or other details.

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* 7. Please provide a brief biographical statement for the individual listed as the main contact above. This information does not affect presentation selection, but it will help us to prepare for the conference and apply for AICP Certification Maintenance credits.

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* 8. If applicable, please provide a brief biographical statement for the individual listed as the co-presenter.

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* 9. Please check below to acknowledge the following conference policies.

Registration policy: Most presenters whose abstracts are selected are asked to register at the Early Bird registration rate and pay their own travel expenses.

Information/image release policy: By submitting an abstract, presenters agree that, if selected for inclusion in the conference agenda, their presentation may be audio or video recorded or photographed. Recordings, photos, or presentation materials such as slides or supplementary materials can be used by the NADO Research Foundation for purposes such as posting on the conference website, in event proceedings, or in other publications, formats, and media. For this reason, presentations should not use copyrighted or protected material unless the rights are held by the presenter or the presenter has permission to use it.