What is the Consultants Council?

The Consultants Council (CCITE) is one of eleven specialty councils of ITE. Its membership is comprised of consulting firms that have at least one employee who is an individual member of ITE. It is only one of two specialty councils made up of corporate memberships. All others have individual membership.

The Council has an Executive Committee of ten members with a cross section of representation of large and small, and minority/woman-owned firms. The Consultants Council through it’s Executive Committee has representation on the Coordinating Council of ITE, the Legislative and Policy Committee, the Annual Awards Committee, and the Annual Meeting Technical Program Committee.

What are the important activities of the Council?

As consultants comprise approximately 50% of the voting membership of ITE, the Consultants Council plays a very important role in representing these members. The purpose of the Council is to continue to support the activities of the Institute, to represent the transportation consulting community and to facilitate the flow of relevant information, training and services to its members. At the 1998 annual ITE meeting, the CCITE sponsored the keynote speaker. Recently, the CCITE has sponsored a training course on Project Management, Technical Sessions, Technical Briefings and co-sponsored research on the true cost of the deteriorating infrastructure in America. The Council is also in the process of developing a business practices handbook for consultants.

Is the Consultants Council for everyone?

The Consultants Council is for large and small firms alike. Currently, there are some 185 firms that are members of the CCITE. Of these, over half are firms with fewer than 10 employees who are individual members in ITE. Much of the recent growth in the Council (up from 171 in 1995) has been due to the smaller firms.

What do I get?

Regular updates on the activities of the Consultants Council and the Institute, as well as reports on issues of interest to transportation consultants.

Members receive numerous discounts that include:

• $25 discount on published annual rates for advertising in the ITE Journal Professional Directory;  
• 10 percent discount on posting of job listings on ITE’s Web page;  
• $50 discount on published annual rates for an Annual Meeting Products and Service Exhibit;  
• $25 discount on published annual rates for a Conference Exhibit;  
• ITE member discount prices on any of the over 550 publications sold by ITE;  
• ITE member discounted prices on meetings, conferences and seminars;  
• $25 discount on published annual rates for advertising in the Annual Meeting or Conference program;  
• 25 percent discount on each label order off published annual rates;  
• Access by the firms key contact to the “members only” section of ITE’s Web page;  
• Complimentary “basic” listing on the appropriate section of ITE’s Transportation Products and Service Yellow Pages on the Web;  
• 10 percent discount on the “enhanced” listing on the appropriate section of ITE’s Transportation Products and Service Yellow Pages on the Web; and
• $25 discount on each Web advertising insertion order based on the published annual rates.

In addition, members of the Consultants Council are eligible to be included in the Council's Directory of Transportation Consultants, which allows potential clients to find you quickly and easily. The directory can be searched by region, firm name, and firm specialties and provides hot-link capacity directly to your firm’s Web site or unique information you maintain in the directory. 

Council Members also receive special opportunities such as a private audience with world-renowned individuals who are sponsored as keynote speakers at the Annual Meeting. 

What will it cost me?

The annual membership dues are prorated based on the size of the consulting firm, in terms of ITE individual memberships that work for the firm. The dues are:

• 1-3            $ 75
• 4-10          $ 150
• 11-20        $ 225    
• 21 & Up    $ 300

The dues are used to sponsor Institute activities, technical activities important to the consultant community, and the annual meeting.

Why should I join the Consultants Council?

There is no other group that exclusively represents the interests of the transportation consulting community in ITE. Through the Consultants Council we have input into legislative and policy positions such as ISTEA reauthorization, methods of procurement, industry standards, etc. While all members of ITE have certain common objectives, there is a wide diversity of special needs and interests.

The consulting community is a vital link in the chain of the planning, design, construction, and operation of the transportation infrastructure throughout the world and the education, research and training efforts that support it. The Consultants Council is our representation. We all need to be members of the Consultants Council.

When and how does my firm join?

The firm can join at any time with payment of the dues. Sometimes in a firm with several ITE members, the fly ball falls between the outfielders when everyone assumes that someone else is taking care of paying the CCITE dues. Ask the senior member of your firm if someone is taking care of this.

To join, please send the membership form to ITE along with your payment.

Quotes

Still not convinced? See what your colleagues have to say:

"BRW’s dues to the Consultants Council are easily covered by the discounts we receive on seminars," Dick Wolsfeld, BRW.

"We benefited from a Council sponsored symposium of consulting firms which was very valuable to us for considering our business practices," Jim Hanks, JRH Transportation Engineering.

"Having an open forum to discuss the state-of-the-practice issues is worth both the dues we pay and the time we spend actively participating," Marsha Anderson, Street Smarts.

"The Consultants Council’s involvement on key issues and committees of ITE representing our interests is worth considerably more than the annual dues," Steve Hofener, Traffic Engineering Consultants, Inc.

"The Consultant’s Council provides an organized opportunity for transportation engineering consultants to return something to the profession which supports us," Jim Lee, Lee Eng., Inc.