Impact Evaluation for Evidence-Based Transportation Decisions (Online)

Instructor: Don MacKenzie, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Washington

When: Oct 28th, 8:30am - 1pm

Where: Synchronous (Live) Online

Cost: $100

Description:

How much does a traffic calming intervention affect vehicle speeds? Does introducing bikesharing increase or decrease transit ridership? Does real time data on parking availability reduce cruising? Decisions in transportation planning, engineering, and policy must be based on sound evidence to effectively - and cost effectively - achieve desired outcomes. The foundation of evidence-based decision making is rigorous evaluation based on careful planning and execution. This half-day course introduces transportation professionals to the core concepts of causal inference, equipping them to better design, interpret, and critique studies that make claims about the impacts of transportation projects, programs, or policies.

You’ll learn how to distinguish causal questions from descriptive ones, understand the strengths and limitations of common evaluation designs (including experiments, natural experiments, observational studies), and recognize when a study supports a credible claim about what worked or didn’t work. With a focus on real transportation examples and practical judgment—not statistics or software—this course will help you make stronger, more defensible decisions rooted in real-world evidence.

Audience:

This course is designed for professionals in transportation planning, engineering, and policy.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Distinguish causal questions from descriptive or correlational questions in the context of transportation policy, planning, and project evaluation
• Understand and compare common evaluation designs—including randomized experiments, natural experiments, quasi-experiments, and observational studies—along with their key assumptions, strengths, and limitations
• Assess the credibility of causal claims based on internal and external validity, recognizing when a study supports a defensible conclusion about what caused what
• Develop a basic evaluation plan for a real-world transportation intervention, using practical tools to structure a study that supports evidence-based decision-making

Instructor Bio:

Don MacKenzie, Allan & Inger Osberg Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Washington. Don MacKenzie directs the UW’s Sustainable Transportation Lab, where his research combines data science and behavioral analysis to understand and improve transportation systems, with a focus on emerging technologies like electric vehicles and mobility services. His team applies statistical, machine learning, and causal inference methods to practical problems in transportation policy, modeling, and technology assessment. Dr. MacKenzie earned his PhD from MIT’s Engineering Systems Division, and teaches for the UW’s on-campus Transportation Engineering and online Master of Sustainable Transportation programs, including courses in introductory and intermediate applied statistics, research design, energy, climate change, sustainability, and transit planning.

Disclaimer: Some of our In-Person and Live-Online courses are recorded for use in future training offerings. Your name and/or image may be part of the recording. Your comments are a valuable part of the learning experience for other participants. By participating in our program, you are consenting to the use of your voice, image, and/or written communication by the Workforce Development Institute.  You may use only your first name on your screen if you do not wish to have your full name or image appear.