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

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69 The strategic decisions discussed in Chapter 5 of this report summarize common trends and emerging issues as identified through interviews with and feedback from DOT executives, planning directors, and planning partners. Although all DOTs have taken some steps to adjust planning in the ways described herein, for any DOT to try to align its planning with all of the guidance presented would be a significant commitment of time and resources. The 21st Century Planning Readiness Assessment and Roadmap is designed to help DOT planning directors screen the information in this guidance to efficiently identify which parts will be most beneficial to them given the issues and challenges the DOT and its planning office face. The roadmap is designed to be followed in three sequential steps, shown in Figure 3. Each step is described in more detail below. Step 1: Screen the Strategic Decisions to Assess Your DOT and Planning Office The purpose of Step 1 is to identify the four or five strategic decisions that have the greatest potential to advance 21st century planning efficiently and effectively. A short self-assessment is available below as “Self-Assessment Tool—Screening the Strategic Decisions.” The questions in the assessment are intended to inform a thoughtful consideration or discus- sion of where planning is consistent or inconsistent with 21st century planning approaches. Completing the tool does not result in a “score.” The scale is designed to help point the planning director to the strategic decisions that might be most useful for this DOT. This step should be led by the DOT planning director. Although the self-assessment tool can be completed individually by the planning director, the assessment will be significantly more meaningful if a variety of perspectives are collected. It would be particularly helpful to ask key planning office managers and executive leaders to provide their perspectives. This broader input can be collected by distributing the tool to selected participants or by bringing the group together in a facilitated discussion. The assessment tool includes a “Summary Worksheet” at the end that the respondent should use to total the number of times each strategic decision received a score of “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively.” Strategic decisions that have the most “not at all” responses or a significant number of “not at all” and “to some extent” responses represent the opportunities for highest potential improvement. A summary table that cross-references each strategic decision to the individual self-assessment questions follows the “Summary Worksheet.” C H A P T E R 6 The 21st Century Planning Readiness Assessment and Roadmap

70 The Role of Planning in a 21st Century State Department of Transportation—Supporting Strategic Decisionmaking Self-Assessment Tool—Screening the Strategic Decisions The following assessment tool has 12 sections, one for each of the 12 strategic decisions presented in Chapter 5. Each section includes several questions. In some cases, the same question will appear in multiple sections. Note that results for each section can be recorded in the “Summary Worksheet” that follows the 12 sections. Instructions for completing the self-assessment are the following: 1. For each question, mark in the assessment section to what degree your DOT aligns with the characteristics described. You can mark each question as: not at all, to some extent, or extensively. 2. After each section, record the sum of each of your responses (the number of times you answered not at all, to some extent, or extensively.) 3. Record the number of responses from each strategic decision in the “Summary Worksheet” to indicate how often you answered “not at all,” “to some extent,” or “extensively.” Figure 3. Conducting the 21st century planning readiness assessment. Assessment Questions Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. Does your DOT have multiple documents and/or processes that establish strategic direction? If so, are the key elements (goals, objectives, and performance measures) aligned? 2. How familiar are you with the full range of state and local strategic documents that should influence your DOT’s strategic direction and planning processes? Are these integrated into your LRTP? 3. Does your planning process include communications approaches, strategies, and developed channels to engage transportation agencies, non- transportation agencies, and stakeholders on the broader implications of plan direction and recommendations? Total the “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively” responses indicated. Strategic Decision #1. Aligning DOT and statewide goals, priorities, and performance.

The 21st Century Planning Readiness Assessment and Roadmap 71 Assessment Questions Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. Does your DOT have multiple documents and/or processes that establish strategic direction? If so, are the key elements (goals, objectives, and performance measures) aligned? 2. How familiar are you with the full range of state and local strategic documents that should influence your DOT’s strategic direction and planning processes? Are these integrated into your LRTP? 3. Do you have strategic-level visioning tools and, if so, how effective are they? 4. How well are your long-range, mid-range, and short-range planning and programming processes connected? 5. How well do your planning processes take into account non-improvement needs such as asset management and operations? 6. How well are performance measures integrated into department-wide decisionmaking? 7. How well does your planning office stay abreast of relevant current and emerging trends? Do you have the knowledge, capabilities, data, and other resources to ensure that this is occurring routinely? 8. What is your ability to develop future scenarios, assess trade-offs, and forecast the impact of different investment strategies on transportation and non-transportation outcomes? 9. How adequate is your ability to inventory and define existing transportation system conditions/performance? 10. How well does your planning department recruit, develop, and plan for succession? Total the “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively” responses indicated. Strategic Decision #2. Agency visioning and goal setting. Assessment Questions Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. Does your DOT have multiple documents and/or processes that establish strategic direction? If so, are the key elements (goals, objectives, and performance measures) aligned? 2. How well do your planning and programming cycles accommodate changing trends and emerging issues? 3. How thoroughly are social, economic, and environmental conditions incorporated into your decision-making frameworks? 4. Does your DOT consider data quality as part of its decisions? If so, how robust are efforts to ensure the maturity of your data management/stewardship practices (such as the reliability, accuracy, timeliness, and consistency of data programs)? Total the “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively” responses indicated. Strategic Decision #3. Identifying performance outcomes.

72 The Role of Planning in a 21st Century State Department of Transportation—Supporting Strategic Decisionmaking Assessment Questions Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. How well and at what level are your agency’s roles and responsibilities defined? How well do these definitions support anticipated or potential changes in mission? 2. Has your agency established a formal understanding of the technical and policy-related roles and responsibilities with planning partners (MPOs, RPOs, transit agencies, tribes, etc.)? 3. Are planning recommendations and products informing the decisions made by the CEO and executive leadership team? 4. How well does your agency understand and manage its current and potential revenue sources? Total the “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively” responses indicated. Strategic Decision #4. Defining state, regional, and local roles. Assessment Questions Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. Does your DOT have multiple documents and/or processes that establish strategic direction? If so, are the key elements (goals, objectives, and performance measures) aligned? 2. How broadly are agency goals, objectives, etc. known and embraced throughout the department? 3. How well connected are your long-range, mid-range, and short-range planning and programming processes? 4. How well do your planning processes consider non-improvement needs such as asset management and operations? 5. Does your DOT consider data quality as part of its decisions? If so, how robust are efforts to ensure the maturity of your data management/stewardship practices (such as the reliability, accuracy, timeliness, and consistency of data programs)? 6. Does your DOT have a centralized data function? If so, to what degree does duplication or overlap exist? Total the “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively” responses indicated. Strategic Decision #5. Internally integrated planning.

The 21st Century Planning Readiness Assessment and Roadmap 73 Assessment Questions Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. How thoroughly are social, economic, and environmental conditions incorporated into your decision-making frameworks? 2. Does your planning process include communications approaches, strategies, and developed channels to engage transportation agencies, non- transportation agencies, and stakeholders on the broader implications of plan direction and recommendations? 3. What is your ability to develop future scenarios, assess trade-offs, and forecast the impact of different investment strategies on transportation and non-transportation outcomes? 4. How familiar are you with the full range of state and local strategic documents that should influence your DOT’s strategic direction and planning processes? Are these integrated into your LRTP? Total the “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively” responses indicated. Strategic Decision #6. Externally integrated planning. Assessment Questions Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. How well does your agency understand and manage its current and potential revenue sources? 2. How strong is your agency’s ability to forecast revenues, cash flow, etc.? 3. How strong are your agency’s capabilities to use “innovative approaches” to reduce costs and deliver projects/programs more effectively? Total the “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively” responses indicated. Strategic Decision #7. Revenue and financial planning. Assessment Questions Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. How well connected are your long-range, mid-range, and short-range planning and programming processes? 2. How well are performance measures integrated into department-wide decisionmaking? 3. Are your project selection processes transparent, consistent, and understood internally and externally? 4. What is your ability to develop future scenarios, assess trade-offs, and forecast the impact of different investment strategies on transportation and non-transportation outcomes? Total the “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively” responses indicated. Strategic Decision #8. Investment strategy resource allocation.

74 The Role of Planning in a 21st Century State Department of Transportation—Supporting Strategic Decisionmaking Assessment Questions Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. How well do your current performance measures enable you to predict outcomes, link decisions to goals, and report results? 2. How thoroughly are social, economic, and environmental conditions incorporated into your decision-making frameworks? 3. Does your DOT have multiple documents and processes that establish strategic direction? If so, are the key elements (including goals, objectives, and performance measures) aligned? Total the “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively” responses indicated. Strategic Decision #9. Linking performance measures to outcomes. Assessment Questions Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. Does your DOT have multiple documents and processes that establish strategic direction? If so, are the key elements (goals, objectives, and performance measures) aligned? 2. How familiar are you with the full range of state and local strategic documents that should influence your DOT’s strategic direction and planning processes? Are these integrated into your LRTP? 3. How broadly are agency goals, objectives, etc. known and embraced throughout the department? 4. How well connected are your long-range, mid-range and short-range planning and programming processes? 5. How well do your current performance measures enable you to predict outcomes, link decisions to goals, and report results? 6. How well are performance measures integrated into department-wide decisionmaking? 7. How thoroughly are social, economic, and environmental conditions incorporated into your decision-making frameworks? 8. Does your planning process include communications approaches, strategies, and developed channels to engage transportation agencies, non- transportation agencies, and stakeholders on the broader implications of plan direction and recommendations? 9. What is your ability to develop future scenarios, assess trade-offs, and forecast the impact of different investment strategies on transportation and non-transportation outcomes? 10. How adequate is your ability to inventory and define existing transportation system conditions/performance? Total the “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively” responses indicated. Strategic Decision #10. Program-level resource allocation.

The 21st Century Planning Readiness Assessment and Roadmap 75 Assessment Questions Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. Does your DOT have multiple documents and processes that establish strategic direction? If so, are the key elements (goals, objectives, and performance measures) aligned? 2. How familiar are you with the full range of state and local strategic documents that should influence your DOT’s strategic direction and planning processes? Are these integrated into your LRTP? 3. How broadly are agency goals, objectives, etc. known and embraced throughout the department? 4. How well connected are your long-range, mid-range, and short-range planning and programming processes? 5. How well do your current performance measures enable you to predict outcomes, link decisions to goals, and report results? 6. How well are performance measures integrated into department-wide decisionmaking? 7. Does your planning process include communications approaches, strategies, and developed channels to engage transportation agencies, non-transportation agencies, and stakeholders on the broader implications of plan direction and recommendations? 8. What is your ability to develop future scenarios, assess trade-offs, and forecast the impact of different investment strategies on transportation and non- transportation outcomes? 9. How adequate is your ability to inventory and define existing transportation system conditions/performance? Total the “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively” responses indicated. Strategic Decision #11. Aligning project-level decisionmaking. Assessment Questions Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. How well do your current performance measures enable you to predict outcomes, link decisions to goals, and report results? 2. How well are performance measures integrated into department-wide decisionmaking? 3. Does your planning process include communications approaches, strategies, and developed channels to engage transportation agencies, non- transportation agencies, and stakeholders on the broader implications of plan direction and recommendations? Total the “not at all,” “to some extent,” and “extensively” responses indicated. Strategic Decision #12. Feedback—monitoring and reporting agency performance.

76 The Role of Planning in a 21st Century State Department of Transportation—Supporting Strategic Decisionmaking Self-Assessment Tool—Summary Worksheet Record the number of responses from each strategic decision in the “Summary Worksheet” (see below) to indicate how often you answered “not at all,” “to some extent,” or “extensively.” Strategic decisions that have the largest number of “not at all” responses or a significant number of “not at all” and “to some extent” responses represent opportunities with the highest potential for improvement. Strategic Decisions—Summary Sheet Not at all To some extent Extensively 1. Aligning DOT and Statewide Goals, Priorities, and Performance 2. Agency Visioning and Goal Setting 3. Identifying Performance Outcomes 4. Defining State, Regional, and Local Roles 5. Internally Integrated Planning 6. Externally Integrated Planning 7. Revenue and Financial Planning 8. Investment Strategy Resource Allocation 9. Linking Performance Measures to Outcomes 10. Program-Level Resource Allocation 11. Aligning Project-Level Decisionmaking 12. Feedback—Monitoring and Reporting Agency Performance

The 21st Century Planning Readiness Assessment and Roadmap 77 Summary Reference for Assessment Questions The table shows which of the 12 strategic decisions are included in each individual self-assessment question. In the table, self-assessment questions are grouped into five categories: strategic direction, planning processes, communications, analytics and data, and management. Strategic Decision Self-Assessment Question 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Strategic Direction Does your DOT have multiple documents or processes that establish strategic direction? If so, are the key elements (goals, objectives, and performance measures) aligned? 1 2 3 5 10 11 How familiar are you with the full range of state and local strategic documents that should influence your DOT’s strategic direction and planning processes? Are these integrated into your LRTP? 1 2 10 11 Do you have strategic-level visioning tools and, if so, how effective are they? 2 How broadly are agency goals, objectives, etc. known and embraced throughout the department? 5 10 11 How well, and at what level, are your agency’s roles and responsibilities defined? How well do these definitions support anticipated or potential changes in mission? 4 Are planning recommendations and products informing the decisions made by the CEO and executive leadership team? 4 Planning Processes How well do your planning and programming cycles accommodate changing trends and emerging issues? 3 How well connected are your long-range, mid- range, and short-range planning and programming processes? 2 5 8 10 11 How well do your planning processes consider non- improvement needs such as asset management and operations? 2 5 How well do your current performance measures enable you to predict outcomes, link decisions to goals, and report results? 9 10 11 12 How well are performance measures integrated into department-wide decisionmaking? 2 8 10 11 12 How thoroughly are social, economic, and environmental conditions incorporated into your decision-making frameworks? 3 6 9 10 Are your project selection processes transparent, consistent, and understood internally and externally? 8 (continued on next page)

78 The Role of Planning in a 21st Century State Department of Transportation—Supporting Strategic Decisionmaking Strategic Decision Self-Assessment Question 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Communications Does your planning process include communications approaches, strategies, and developed channels to engage transportation agencies, non-transportation agencies, and stakeholders on the broader implications of plan direction and recommendations? 1 6 10 11 12 Analytics and Data How well does your planning office stay abreast of relevant current and emerging trends? Do you have the knowledge, capabilities, data, and other resources to ensure that this is occurring routinely? 2 What is your ability to develop future scenarios, assess trade-offs, and forecast the impact of different investment strategies on transportation and non-transportation outcomes? 2 6 8 10 11 How adequate is your ability to inventory and define existing transportation system conditions/performance? 2 10 11 How well does your agency understand and manage its current and potential revenue sources? 4 7 How strong is your agency’s ability to forecast revenues, cash flow, etc.? 7 Does your DOT consider data quality as part of its decisions? If so, how robust are efforts to ensure the maturity of your data management/stewardship practices (such as the reliability, accuracy, timeliness, and consistency of data programs)? 3 5 Does your DOT have a centralized data function? If so, to what degree does duplication or overlap exist? 5 Management How well does your planning department recruit, develop, and plan for succession? 2 How strong are your agency’s capabilities to use “innovative approaches” to reduce costs and deliver projects/programs more effectively? 7 How familiar are you with the full range of state and local strategic documents that should influence your DOT’s strategic direction and planning processes? Are these integrated into your LRTP? 6 Has your agency established a formal understanding of the technical and policy-related roles and responsibilities with planning partners (MPOs, RPOs, transit agencies, tribes, etc.)? 4

The 21st Century Planning Readiness Assessment and Roadmap 79 Step 2: Identify the Priority Strategic Decisions That DOT Executives Are Most Likely to Support Based on the self-assessment tool “Summary Worksheet,” the planning director or team should focus on the three to five strategic decisions that corresponded with the most “not at all” or “to some extent” responses. These strategic decisions have been screened as most relevant to the DOT. If the list of potential changes identified in Step 1 seems too ambitious, the planning director or team should prioritize the strategic decisions. Many criteria can be used, such as the following: • Which of the changes, or strategic decisions, should be addressed in tandem to achieve the full benefit of the change? For example, several strategic decisions are related to implementing performance-based planning and so can be prioritized together. • Which of the strategic decisions is likely to provide the greatest benefit for the least investment of staff or financial resources? • Where applicable, are the likely partners willing to participate in making the changes identified in the strategic decisions? • Are there significant risks to implementing the change or strategic decisions? Are there ideas for how these significant risks could be mitigated? The team may identify different or additional criteria for screening the list of potential strategic decisions, but the aim is to identify a list of three to five strategic decisions that the planning director will recommend to the DOT executive team. As part of the process of prioritizing the strategic decisions, the planning director or team should review the “What Is Different?” section of each strategic decision discussion. This will help to 1. Confirm the planning director’s/team’s understanding of what changes are involved in imple- menting that strategic decision. 2. Indicate what is already in place to support the recommended 21st century planning approach. 3. Determine whether this strategic decision should be included as a part of the “case for change” that is recommended to the CEO and the executive leadership team. The list of priority strategic decisions that results from this process will be used in developing a case for change in meeting with DOT executives. Step 3: Develop a “Case for Change” and a “Change Management Plan” for Meeting with DOT Executives Making the most of the changes in the 12 strategic decisions highlighted in this guidance will likely require support from the DOT secretary and executive leaders across the organization. They will need to be committed to a new way of doing business and allocating the time and potentially the financial resources needed to support the design and implementation of specific changes. The section “Change Management” in Chapter 7 provides more information on the role of executives in implementing change. No single approach to engaging executive leaders appears in this discussion. The approach will depend on the relationships, organizational structure, and “protocols” of the DOT. Some standard elements should be covered with every executive team, as described below. Identify an Executive-Level Champion A committed member of the executive team should be willing to recommend the change agenda to the executive team. If the planning director is a member of the executive team, he/she can

80 The Role of Planning in a 21st Century State Department of Transportation—Supporting Strategic Decisionmaking be the champion. If not, someone else, most likely the deputy secretary responsible for planning, should support the change agenda. Develop a Well-Crafted Case for Change Executive leaders need to be convinced of the benefits of the change. A discussion of what is driving the need for change is the starting point for creating a case for change, but the plan- ning director and executive champion need to tailor this case for change to specifically reach an executive leadership audience. In preparing this case for change, the following questions should be considered: • Who are the opinion leaders within the executive team? What rationale will be most com- pelling to the CEO and any other opinion leaders on the team? Identifying the benefits that will appeal to these individuals will help build credibility and support for the change agenda. • Which of the executive leaders will have to be involved directly in the design and imple- mentation of the change? The implementation of some changes will require participation of staff from other parts of the DOT. For executive leaders in these areas to not only buy-in but also be willing to commit resources is essential. • What types of information does this group typically respond to? A case for change developed by planning managers may not be as compelling to executives. What benefits will they be looking for? Time savings, cost savings, improvements in key partnerships, and clear com- mitment to the governor’s agenda are all possible selling points, but “knowing your audience” and tailoring the case for change to the issues that will resonate with them are essential. • Be as specific as you can with regard to what is needed from each member individually and the executive leadership team as a whole. Executives will not commit to a change agenda without a general understanding of what is needed from them personally and collectively. At this point, the change agenda will not be designed fully, but the recommendation should highlight the role and the general level of effort expected from executive leaders, the planning staff, staff from other parts of the DOT, and others external to the DOT. The desired outcome of presenting the case for change to the executive team is their com- mitment to implementing the strategic decisions that will advance 21st century planning most effectively at the DOT. As part of implementing the changes identified, your planning team and the executive leader- ship can review “Change Management” in Chapter 7.