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22 | ENGAGING AIRPORT STAKEHOLDERS Helpful Engagement Tools6 A variety of tools can be used to engage stakeholders. In this guidebook the term âengagement toolsâ is used to refer to the interactive, electronic instruments in the NextGen Outreach Tool-kit. These tools are intended to help airport personnel or their consultants engage stakehold- ers with regard to NextGen. They also help airport users determine which stakeholder engagement methods and materials are best to use in specific situations. The tools discussed in this chapter include an interactive flow chart, a cost estimating spreadsheet, a library of relevant literature, and a glossary of terms and abbreviations. Interactive PBN Implementation Flow Chart Successful stakeholder engagement requires communicating the right information to the right people at the right time. The challenge of meeting these requirements is heightened by the fact that the pro- cess of implementing NextGen capabilities is complex and not well understood by many stakeholders. For example, FAA has documented the process of implementing PBN procedures in FAA JO 7100.41. The RTCA PBN Blueprint Task Group, however, identified that âa major limitation of this order is that it applies only to [FAA] Air Traffic Organization (ATO) service unitsâ and recommended that the order be âapplied to the entire stakeholder community engaged in PBN development and implementationâ (RTCA NextGen Advisory Committee 2014). An interactive flow chart that is based on the process defined in FAA JO 7100.41 but highlights the role airports play has been developed to help address this limitation (see Figure 6-1). This flow chart walks airport managers, staff, and consultants through the process of developing PBN procedures. The goal of the flow chart is not to make the process of implementing PBN seem simple. Acknowledging the complexity of the process, the chart places focus on the steps in the process in which airport staff and their consultants can play an effective role. Each step is described so that users of the flow chart understand what the objectives of the step are and what they can do to help achieve those objec- tives. The emphasis is on what information users need to provide or receive from other stakeholders to ensure that the implementation of PBN procedures achieves an optimal balance of stakeholder needs. Use of the interactive flow chart thus supports the objectives of stakeholder engagement as defined in Chapter 5 of this guidebook. The flow chart is interactive in that links embedded in the chart allow users to navigate to the relevant steps and content at any particular time. The links connect to stakeholder engagement materials that can be used to convey information at specific steps in the process, case study examples that demon- strate how others have carried out these steps, and references to additional material and key terms where applicable. Narration is provided to help users understand the process. PBN was selected as the focus of this flow chart because it is the NextGen initiative that has and will likely continue to impact the most airports in the short term. Airports can adapt the methods described in this guidebook and
Helpful Engagement Tools | 23 the engagement materials and tools provided in the NextGen Outreach Toolkit to use with stakeholder engagement activities that support other NextGen initiatives relevant to airports. Figure 6-1. Interactive flow chart (PBN for Your Airport), available on the NextGen Outreach Toolkit. Cost Estimating Spreadsheet Cost is an important factor when deciding what stakeholder engagement methods and materials to use. Costs will vary greatly depending on the capabilities of the airport and the approach it selects. Costs also will vary depending on where the airport is in the stakeholder engagement process. It is therefore impossible to specify a definitive cost or range of costs. To overcome this challenge, the research team developed a cost estimating spreadsheet that identifies various costs and allows users to provide input based on their situation that will help them determine the stakeholder engagement costs they can expect. The resulting estimates are rough order of magni- tude (ROM) costs suitable for planning purposes, meaning that they can vary +/- 50% in most cases (Project Management Institute 2013). In some circumstances the cost estimates may vary beyond these limits. For these reasons, the estimates should be refined with specific information before being used for budgeting or procurement activities that require more accurate values. The cost estimating spreadsheet tool is available as a Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet accessed from within the NextGen Outreach Toolkit. Users will notice that within the pre-formatted spreadsheet, values that appear in blue are inputs that can be changed, whereas values that appear in black are the results. Instructions for the cost estimating spreadsheet tool are provided within the spreadsheet file.
24 | ENGAGING AIRPORT STAKEHOLDERS Library of Relevant Literature An extensive literature search was conducted to support the findings presented in the ACRP Report 150 series, and much of this literature is cited in the guidebooks. FAA also has produced a great deal of literature that is helpful to airports, such as the brochure âNextGen Works for Airportsâ (FAA 2014). An even broader array of literature may be of interest to users wishing to learn more about a particular aspect of NextGen. The NextGen Outreach Toolkit contains an interactive library that allows users to search for NextGen documents that are of interest to them (Figure 6-2). The library can be accessed by clicking on the âbinocularâ icon, which opens the search tool. Entering search terms or keywords will filter and sort the list of available documents based on their relevance. In many cases the documents can then be viewed. Some documents can be accessed directly from links on the webpage but others will require retrieval from external online sources. Citation information is provided for documents that are not available through either of these means. In a few cases, obtaining access to externally produced docu- ments will require payment of a fee to the publisher. Figure 6-2. Interactive library. NextGen Glossary NextGen is a complex series of programs that are described using a variety of terms and acronyms. An important factor in successful stakeholder engagement is establishment of a common lexicon that is understood by all parties involved in the discussion. To encourage this common dialogue and to avoid the potential for misunderstanding, the research teams of ACRP Projects 01-27, 01-28, 03-33, 03-34, and 09-12 collaborated to develop a comprehensive and consistent NextGen glossary (Figure 6-3). The NextGen glossary, which also includes commonly referenced abbreviations, is formatted alpha- betically as a searchable list that can be accessed from within the NextGen Outreach Toolkit.
Helpful Engagement Tools | 25 Figure 6-3. Searchable NextGen glossary.
