2009 CEO Leadership Forum: Performance-Based Management

April 19-21, 2009 Center for Transportation Studies University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota

Sponsored By:

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Transportation Research Board (TRB) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Funded By:

National Cooperative Highway Research Program

Conducted By:

Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota

The Forum

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Purpose

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Exchange best practices and experiences

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Identify strategic challenges Develop research and action plans

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Focus of Discussion

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Current Trends Leadership Experiences Best Practices

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Attendees

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45 participants representing 14 states, AASHTO, FHWA, & TRB

Setting the Stage: AASHTO Plans & Challenges

PRESENTATION: Pete Rahn, Director, Missouri DOT, and Chair, Standing Committee on Performance Management State DOTs face challenges:

–Executive turnover –Wild fluctuation in resources at federal and state levels –Public approval driven by condition of system –Variety of reporting structures –Public dislike of taxes and distrust of government –Deteriorating transportation infrastructure

AASHTO’s response:

–Form Standing Committee on Performance Management –Help states develop policies and tools for performance management –Performance-based management can: –Deliver organizational direction regardless of CEO turnover –Create efficiency to show good and bad policies and processes –Provide greater accountability and transparency –Give DOTs credibility by demonstrating what is being delivered

Setting the Stage: State of the Art in State DOT Performance Management

PRESENTATION: Lance Neumann President, Cambridge Systematics

• The purpose of measuring is not just to know how a business is performing, but to enable it to perform better. Measurement should not be an end in itself, but part of an integrated system for enhancing business performance • Performance management is a practical tool to connect broad policies to actions, help evaluate performance, guide resource allocations, track performance over time and report results – both good and bad • When determining performance measures, choose quantifiable metrics that help you track progress toward goals and objectives. When establishing targets, connect performance management with results to set realistic expectations • High-quality data is critical to successful performance management

Setting the Stage: State of the Practice State DOT Survey

PRESENTATION: Randy Halvorson, Principal, Cambridge Systematics

  • DOTs were asked 10 questions about status of performance management in their states and several themes emerged • Organizational and cultural hurdles are real obstacles to implementing performance-based management Some states are aligning performance measures to funding allocations, but national application needs to be determined. Avoid disincentives and offer incentives instead States need to be involved in establishing national goals. The Federal approach must take into account state experience with measures, which varies widely

State Presentations

SAFETY PERFORMANCE: Tom Sorel, Minnesota DOT

• Performance targets critical to drive improvement • Transportation organizations must take a leadership role and form partnerships to drive results • Toward Zero Deaths Program: saw impressive fatality reductions • Created data-driven strategies • Emphasized county partnerships

State Presentations

PRESERVATION PERFORMANCE: Kirk Steudle, Michigan DOT

• Created an asset management approach through policy goals and objectives • Connected measures with investment choices • Similar approach to bridge stewardship • Met or nearly met goals with this approach • Considering adding goals • Considering new road performance measures • Using measures to show impacts of declining revenue

State Presentations

OPERATIONS PERFORMANCE: Dave Ekern, Virginia DOT

• Consolidated three program rating mechanisms from previous administration • Majority of performance measures available to public on Web Dashboard 3.0

• Takes operations performance beyond on-time and on-budget measures • Comprehensive approach to incident response in the area of operations • Use results to realign funding, equipment and protocols to strengthen all stages of incident response

State Presentations

CONGESTION PERFORMANCE: Paula Hammond, Washington State DOT

• Three-part strategy: adding capacity strategically, operating roadways efficiently and managing demand • Ten-year program to improve traffic conditions and prepare for future demands • Actively tracking and measuring benefits – The Grey Book – the good, the bad, and the ugly • Key congestion measures include travel time and reliability, travel delay, lost system throughput productivity, and HOV lane performance • Results: enhanced credibility, DOT tells the story before others do, and better management of the system

State Presentations

ENVIRONMENT PERFORMANCE: Jay Norvell, California DOT

• Goals and objectives focus on efficient project delivery, compliance with laws and agreements, and statewide goals such as energy use and GHG emissions • Set targets based on goals and objectives • Allocated resources based on target performance • Evaluate performance over time • Many questions about how the transportation system impacts GHG emissions and the role of state DOTs

State Presentations

ECONOMY/FREIGHT PERFORMANCE: Caitlin Hughes Rayman, Marylond DOT

• Transportation and economic conditions critical to Maryland • Work needs to be done with FHWA and others to develop freight performance measures • Challenging to determine performance measures when looking at multi-modal system • Need affordable, accurate data to update plans and improve forecasting • Must work with locals and other partners to do corridor-based planning

Conversation Circle

• What are the measures that are most important to a CEO or senior executive of a state DOT? How are they used to change performance?

• What have been your biggest successes as a CEO in the use of performance measures? What have been your challenges?

• What do DOTs need to implement performance-based management? What research, training, and information are needed from AASHTO, TRB, FHWA, and others?

• Led to small group development of research and action needs

Key Research or Action: Designing and Implementing a State DOT Performance Management System

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Framework/Vision for State DOT Performance Management (White Paper)

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Capacity Building Program for State and Local Transportation Agencies at Different Stages of Performance Management

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Approaches to New System Performance Measures

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Performance Management Guidelines and Specifications

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Best Practices for Data Collection and Reporting for Performance Measures

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Key Research or Action: Developing a Set of National Transportation Performance Measures

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AASHTO Policy Statement on the Purpose of National Performance Measures

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Develop Scenarios for Carrying Out National Performance Measures AASHTO Decision on How this Program will be Carried Out Federal Program Framework Develop National Performance Measures Customer/Public Outreach and Engagement Comparative Performance Measurement (NCHRP 20-24 (37 series))

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AASHTO Center of Excellence for Performance Management

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Key Research or Action: Performance Measurement Approaches for Emerging Transportation-related Policy Directions & Issues

Performance Measures for Mega Regions and Corridors State-of-Practice with International & Private Sector Land Use & Transportation Strategies for Quality of Life Performance Measures for multimodal projects or programs Measuring & Managing Effects of Climate Change on DOTs & Transportation Industry Performance Criteria for Effective Public-Private Partnerships Freight/Economic Development Performance Management & Planning Policy Implications of Performance Measurement/Management

Next Steps

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White paper finalized and posted to AASHTO SCPM Web site Additional DOT surveys collected, summarized, and posted to Web Development of a full proceedings from the forum, including presentations, white paper, and action plans Posting of the summary and follow up activities on the Web Plans for funding and implementation of research and action recommendations by the NCHRP panel and the forum’s sponsoring organizations