The Role of Planning in a 21st Century State Department of Transportation—Supporting Strategic Decisionmaking (2015)

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N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP REPORT 798 The Role of Planning in a 21st Century State Department of Transportation—Supporting Strategic Decisionmaking Janet D’Ignazio ICF InternatIonal Durham, NC Suzann Rhodes CDM SMIth Columbus, OH Craig Secrest hIgh Street ConSultIng group, llC Denver, CO Subscriber Categories Administration and Management • Planning and Forecasting TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2015 www.TRB.org Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective approach to the solution of many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program employing modern scientific techniques. This program is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of the Association and it receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies was requested by the Association to administer the research program because of the Board’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this purpose as it maintains an extensive committee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; its relationship to the National Research Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains a full-time research correlation staff of specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those who are in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators of the highway and transportation departments and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific areas of research needs to be included in the program are proposed to the National Research Council and the Board by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Research projects to fulfill these needs are defined by the Board, and qualified research agencies are selected from those that have submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Research Council and the Transportation Research Board. The needs for highway research are many, and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement rather than to substitute for or duplicate other highway research programs. Published reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at: http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America NCHRP REPORT 798 Project 08-36/Task 113 ISSN 0077-5614 ISBN 978-0-309-30836-6 Library of Congress Control Number 2015930911 © 2015 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The members of the technical panel selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council. The mission of the Transporta- tion Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individu- als interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org www.national-academies.org

C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Contributors to the research conducted under NCHRP Project 08-36/Task 113 include Ryan Reeves and Alanna McKeeman of ICF International. CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 798 Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Christopher Hedges, Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Lori L. Sundstrom, Senior Program Officer Megan A. Chamberlain, Senior Program Assistant Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Ellen M. Chafee, Editor NCHRP PROJECT 08-36/TASK 113 PANEL Field of Transportation Planning—Area of Forecasting Brian J. Smith, Shelton, WA (Chair) Jennifer Dill, Portland State University, Portland, OR Mell Henderson, Bradenton, FL Patricia G. Hendren, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Washington, DC Timothy A. Henkel, Minnesota DOT, St. Paul, MN W. David Lee, Florida DOT, Tallahassee, FL Greg Slater, Maryland State Highway Administration, Baltimore, MD Kevin M. Walsh, Massachusetts DOT, Boston, MA Harlan Miller, FHWA Liaison Matthew Hardy, AASHTO Liaison Kimberly Fisher, TRB Liaison Neil J. Pedersen, TRB Liaison

NCHRP Report 798 examines how the planning function in state departments of trans- portation (DOTs) can more effectively support strategic decisionmaking in the increasingly complex environments that state DOTs operate within. A self-assessment tool provides a thoughtful and methodical approach to identifying opportunities for increasing the value of planning as well as the skill sets and expertise that planning professionals need to realize that potential. The report should be of immediate use to DOT executives, senior planning managers, and educators. Transportation agencies are responding to a wide variety of global and domestic events and trends—economic, environmental, political, safety, social, and technological—that impose new challenges and present new opportunities. The rate at which various issues and events are complicating the preservation, operation, and improvement of transportation system ele- ments is accelerating. State DOTs increasingly find themselves competing with other societal priorities for limited financial resources. In response to shrinking operating budgets, many DOTs are downsizing as well as developing and implementing new service delivery systems that involve the private sector in unfamiliar ways. Transportation planning has historically played an influential role in transportation decisions, but planning’s role, and the practices and tools used by transportation planning professionals, must continue to evolve to provide maximum value to transportation agencies that are making decisions on infrastructure and service investments under demanding economic, social, and environmental conditions. Transportation planning—performed by professionals with the necessary knowledge and expertise—can play a key role in helping agencies making transformative changes by support- ing and enabling them to successfully address the complex issues facing state DOTs. Under NCHRP Project 08-36 (113), ICF International, Inc., was asked to explore and provide guidance on how the planning function in a state DOT can best contribute to and support future strategic decisionmaking to positively affect transportation services, opera- tions, and project delivery. The report addresses the continuing and emerging challenges fac- ing transportation including (1) policy drivers such as constrained resources, energy supply and cost volatility, demographic trends, technology, state of the economy, sustainability, and climate change; (2) state DOT internal organizational, structural, and cultural challenges; (3) state and federal statutory and regulatory frameworks; and (4) ways in which transpor- tation agency roles and governance responsibilities are evolving, shifting, or changing. The research also provides general guidance on identifying the core planning-related competen- cies, knowledge, skills, and abilities will that be needed by transportation professionals in the future. The research results should be of immediate use to state DOT executives, transporta- tion planning managers, educators, and professional certifying organizations. F O R E W O R D By Lori L. Sundstrom Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

1 Summary 6 Chapter 1 Introduction 7 Chapter 2 Why Is Planning Important to the State DOT? 7 Visioning 7 Establishing Relationships 7 Communicating the DOT’s Mission and Role in Supporting Communities 8 Establishing Strategic, Long-Range, and Mid-Term Plans That Address Emerging Trends 9 Chapter 3 What Drives Transportation Change? 9 Finance 10 Politics 11 Economy 12 Technology 12 Environment and Energy 12 Demographics and Societal Factors 14 Chapter 4 Characteristics of Planning and Effective Planners in the 21st Century 14 What Is Different Today? 17 Characteristics of the 21st Century Transportation Planner 20 Chapter 5 Integrating Planning into Strategic Decisionmaking 21 Strategic Decision #1: Aligning DOT and Statewide Goals, Priorities, and Performance 25 Strategic Decision #2: Agency Visioning and Goal Setting 29 Strategic Decision #3: Identifying Performance Outcomes 32 Strategic Decision #4: Defining State, Regional, and Local Roles 37 Strategic Decision #5: Internally Integrated Planning 41 Strategic Decision #6: Externally Integrated Planning 45 Strategic Decision #7: Revenue and Financial Planning 51 Strategic Decision #8: Investment Strategy Resource Allocation 54 Strategic Decision #9: Linking Performance Measures to Outcomes 58 Strategic Decision #10: Program-Level Resource Allocation 61 Strategic Decision #11: Aligning Project-Level Decisionmaking 65 Strategic Decision #12: Feedback—Monitoring and Reporting Agency Performance 69 Chapter 6 The 21st Century Planning Readiness Assessment and Roadmap 69 Step 1: Screen the Strategic Decisions to Assess Your DOT and Planning Office 79 Step 2: Identify the Priority Strategic Decisions That DOT Executives Are Most Likely to Support C O N T E N T S

79 Step 3: Develop a “Case for Change” and a “Change Management Plan” for Meeting with DOT Executives 81 Chapter 7 Implementation 81 Change Management 84 Organizational Silos 84 Risk Assessment and Risk Management 85 Data 86 Staffing/Planner Skills and Competencies 90 Appendix A Stakeholder Outreach Summary 100 Appendix B Additional Research 109 Abbreviations and Acronyms Note: Photographs, figures, and tables in this report may have been converted from color to grayscale for printing. The electronic version of the report (posted on the web at www.trb.org) retains the color versions.