The Advisory Committee Enhancement (ACE) process was initiated by VTA General Manager Michael Burns in August 2008 to engage advisory committee members in the development of recommendations for improving the advisory committee process of providing input and advice to management and the Board of Directors.

The ACE process is being led by VTA’s Public Information Officer, Jennie Loft, assisted by project manager Stephen Flynn.  Among the goals of the process are each advisory committee:

• Reviewing its role, responsibilities, and limitations as defined by the Board adopted bylaws, and how it can provide input as an advisory body to help VTA achieve the outcomes described in the VTA Vision and Mission statements. 
• Examining its primary focus and area of expertise in relation to the other advisory committees to identify overlap and duplication and potentially underserved areas.
• Exploring ways of providing effective input to the Board while minimizing the associated resources required.

As a first step, each advisory committee established an ACE subcommittee, comprised of s small number of members.  The purpose of the subcommittee is to perform the tasks the committee determines to be necessary for successful completion of the process but at a time other than the committee meeting.

The ACE process is currently in the Task Force phase.  The Task Force is a joint meeting of the subcommittee members and VTA staff to review the roles and responsibilities of all the advisory committees, individually and collectively, in a comprehensive manner.  The purpose is to develop recommendations to more clearly define individual committee responsibilities, identify overlap and duplication, consider underserved areas, and discuss options to maximize the contribution each committee can make to the VTA Board process.  All recommendations resulting from the ACE process require VTA Board approval for implementation.

All advisory committees will continue to receive regular updates by their subcommittee members, as well as by the ACE process facilitators, on the discussion, decisions, and progress made during Task Force meetings.

ACE Task Force meetings

• July 22, 2009  
  • Agenda 
  • Meeting summary  
• June 24, 2009  
  • Agenda 
  • Materials
    1. PossibleStrategies for Improving Advisory Process
  • Meeting summary 
• May 27, 2009  
  • Agenda
  • Materials
    1.Advisory committee bylaws and provisional mission statements
  • Meeting summary
• Task Force Meeting Archive