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The National Association of City Transportation Officials is a nonprofit membership association for city transportation officials, with members from transportation agencies in cities across North America. Within the NACTO network, these agencies are represented by experts who plan, design, and build projects that make city streets more livable, equitable, and sustainable. 

The National Association
of City
Transportation Officials

How NACTO empowers city transportation officials through a collaborative, outcomes-driven community.

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The Problem
The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) members rely on a group of trusted peers with whom they can share project ideas, seek feedback and advice, and ask questions. For years NACTO used outdated listservs and Google Groups to manage their members. With this strategy, NACTO staff struggled to maintain an accurate database of members in Google Sheets alongside separate listservs in Google Groups. Moreover, city and agency staff who participated in NACTO’s listservs/peer networks wanted an easy way to know who else was on the lists, both within their cities and across the network.

The Solution
Moving off of Google Groups and outdated listservs and onto Mobilize, NACTO was able to improve their network management and continue to meet their members where they are.

Key Features

The Problem 

 

NACTO had a thriving community, but the technology couldn’t keep pace.

The National Association of City Transportation Officials is a nonprofit membership association for city transportation officials, with members from transportation agencies in cities across North America. Within the NACTO network, these agencies are represented by experts who plan, design, and build projects that make city streets more livable, equitable, and sustainable. 

NACTO’s core goal is to create a community of people who are experts in street design, policy, and programs, so they can support each other in building cities with safe, sustainable, accessible, and equitable transportation choices. 

NACTO grew organically from a network of just 15 cities in 2010 to a network of 54 cities and 9 transit agencies in 2017. By 2017, while members cited NACTO’s technical listservs and peer networks to be one of the most valuable resources the organization offered, NACTO staff were struggling to maintain an accurate database of members in Google Sheets alongside separate listservs in Google Groups. 

Furthermore, city and agency staff who participated in NACTO’s listservs/peer networks wanted an easy way to know who else was on the lists, both within their cities and across the network. And NACTO staff needed an automated way to keep track of who joined NACTO lists and when they joined so they could report back to the members regularly.

When looking for a new technology to support their network of practitioners, NACTO staff had one North Star Criteria: meet members where they are. For NACTO, working with staff who work for public agencies, that meant maintaining the ability for NACTO members to communicate via email. NACTO staff knew that they would not maintain high levels of engagement if members had to log in to a member portal to engage with their peers. Mobilize was the only technology that created a back-end database viewable by both NACTO staff and NACTO members and allowed members to continue communicating with each other from their email inboxes.

 

The Solution

 

Technology that improved network management by continuing to meet members where they are.

Since transitioning to Mobilize in early 2018, the community has thrived and grown. NACTO’s Mobilize community gives members a safe, cities-only space to get thoughtful answers to technical and sensitive questions. According to NACTO Program Manager Jenny O’Connell, who manages membership, the community “connects members who have shared challenges, shared needs, and shared opportunities. Building projects that support safe, healthy, accessible, and equitable cities can feel challenging at times, so having peers and a community nearby is incredibly valuable.” 

With 13% of members posting every month and 26% of members replying, which is more than 10x the industry standard, it is clear that NACTO’s community is healthy and engaged. In addition, 23% of members have sent private messages, an important stat for a community of disparately located professionals, looking to connect with each other, and working for more than 80 agencies in 71 cities. Overall, NACTO’s community has an average of 26% engagement each month, a percentage that far exceeds typical community numbers (10% on average) and underscores the member value. 

The Results 

 

NACTO members see themselves as part of a large network of peers.

NACTO members most often use Mobilize to ask each other technical questions, share challenges, and seek out best practices. What makes the network thrive is that their peers respond – with helpful advice, useful photos and resources, and sometimes even an offer to connect 1-on-1 outside the group. 

One recent event shows how much members value this resource. Over the course of several years, one NACTO community member relied on the network for important questions about a major project he was working on in his city. Recently, after years of work and countless questions for his peers, the member’s project was finally approved. With this exciting development, the member turned back to the NACTO network to share the good news, at-mentioning members to thank them and expressing gratitude for helping him reach the finish line. 

NACTO shows what is possible when a community is built on mutual interests, trust, and authentic connection. The years-long story of the member above and the ongoing active engagement within the network show us that pairing a meaningful mission with strong community leadership can drive world changing outcomes.

Work with experts who build successful communities

Mobilize is made up of community experts who have launched communities for the likes of Dropbox, United Nations’ SDSN, Dermalogica, and more. We work with you to align your business goals with a tailored community strategy to ensure its success.

Whether you’re just getting started or are looking to improve outcomes with your existing community — we have strategies and industry-tailored programs to help you get things done. Schedule a demo for a personalized walk-through of our technology and learn about our expert-led strategy services.

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