Making the Case for TDM: Transforming Perception Into Action Across Sectors
TDM Forum 2025
Track Description:
Making the case for TDM isn’t just about data, it’s about storytelling, strategy, and speaking the language of your audience. This track is designed to equip attendees with the tools, tactics, and talking points needed to turn TDM skeptics into champions across the private, public, and institutional sectors.
We’ll dive into real-world success stories from private employers who’ve voluntarily invested in TDM—not because they had to, but because it made business sense. Learn how they secured executive buy-in, aligned TDM with workforce needs, and delivered measurable outcomes for recruitment, retention, and employee well-being.
From there, we’ll shift focus to the public sector, where agency leaders and policymakers share how they’ve learned to frame TDM in ways that resonate—whether advocating for program funding, integrating TDM into economic development goals, or turning elected officials into unexpected allies.
And to wrap things up, we’ll roll the dice—literally—with an interactive, hands-on session featuring Oregon State University’s “TDM Board Game,” a dynamic tool used to educate and inspire action from university leaders, local officials, and community stakeholders. You’ll walk away with new ideas (and maybe a new game night activity) for building understanding and support in your own work.
Whether you’re pitching TDM to a CEO, a city council, or your campus, this track will help you sharpen your message, connect with your audience, and win support that moves the mission forward.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Learn from private employer representatives that have successfully supported TDM programs. What messages worked to help build buy-in? What activities were done and what were the lessons learned? How did their employees and businesses benefit?
- Hear from elected officials and public agency representatives about how to best speak to the value of TDM with their peers. How can TDM outcomes be best communicated in terms that resonate?
- Experience a hands-on session with a board game designed to demonstrate the value of TDM activities. Learn how the game could be modified to help make the case in other situations.