Previous Chapter: References
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Suggested Citation: "Glossary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Evaluation of the Every Day Counts Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/28871.

Glossary

Term Definition
Candidate A specific innovation in surface transportation considered by the EDC Program for
Innovation inclusion in a future EDC Round.
Diffusion of Innovations The adoption of innovations across multiple organizations.
EDC Innovation A specific set of technologies, practices, or approaches selected by the EDC Program for promotion in the surface transportation community and presented at the EDC Summit.
EDC Round A 2-year period in which a collection of EDC Innovations is supported by the EDC Program.
EDC Summit A summit (in-person or virtual) where transportation leaders from across the country gather to discuss and identify opportunities for implementing EDC Innovations in their respective states.
Evaluation project The project to assess the Every Day Counts Program conducted by RTI. Also referred as “evaluation” or “project.”
External stakeholders A person or organization outside of the FHWA that is involved in enabling the outcomes of the EDC Program.
Impact Positive and negative, primary and secondary long-term effects produced by an intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended. See also Outcome.
Implementation The process of deploying an EDC Innovation in an operational setting.
Implementation Deployment Team A group of experts recruited by the EDC Program to develop the plan of activities and resources that will support state DOTs who choose to adopt an EDC Innovation.
Industry stakeholder groups Members of trade and professional associations who communicate and collaborate with the FHWA on the EDC Program.
Innovation The implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service), or process, a new marketing method, or a new organizational method in business practices, workplace organization or external relations (OECD 2005).
Internal stakeholders A person affiliated with the FHWA.
Outcomes Changes or benefits resulting from activities and outputs. Short-term outcomes produce changes in learning, knowledge, attitude, skills, or understanding. Intermediate outcomes generate changes in behavior, practice, or decisions. Long-term outcomes produce changes in condition. See also Impact.
Outputs A product or consequence generated by a program activity.
Potential innovation An innovation proposed by the surface transportation community to the EDC Program for possible selection as a candidate EDC Innovation.
Program Any activity, project, function, or policy that has an identifiable purpose or set of objectives (GAO 2011).
Program Logic Model A schematic and description of the rationale for how the program is designed and why it is expected to produce its intended results.
Research Creative work undertaken on a systematic basis to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society (OECD 2002).
Theory of Change Description of how a programmatic intervention is expected to induce a change in the program’s participants or environmental conditions.
Page 42
Suggested Citation: "Glossary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Evaluation of the Every Day Counts Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/28871.
Page 42
Next Chapter: Abbreviations
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