Delivering Gdot's Work Program
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GEORGIA DOT RESEARCH PROJECT 15-18 FINAL REPORT DELIVERING GDOT’S WORK PROGRAM: DEVELOPING STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION AT PUBLIC MEETINGS AND OPEN HOUSES TO ENHANCE THE CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND AWARENESS OF NEED AND PURPOSE, TRANSPORTATION DEFICIENCIES, AND CONSEQUENCES OF NOT IMPLEMENTING IMPROVEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH GDOT’S PROPOSED WORK PROGRAM OFFICE OF RESEARCH 15 KENNEDY DRIVE FOREST PARK, GA 30297-2534 1. Report No.: 2. Government Accession No.: 3. Recipient's Catalog No.: FHWA-GA-17-1518 4. Title and Subtitle: Delivering GDOT’S Work Program: 5. Report Date: May 2017 Developing strategies for successful communication at Public Meetings and Open Houses to enhance the conceptual 6. Performing Organization Code: understanding and awareness of Need and Purpose, transportation deficiencies, and consequences of not implementing improvements associated with GDOT’s proposed Work Program 7. Author(s): Marcel Maghiar, Cheryl Aasheim, Jennifer 8. Performing Organ. Report No.: Kowalewski, Gustavo Maldonado 9. Performing Organization Name and Address: 10. Work Unit No.: Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Management, Information Technology and Communication 11. Contract or Grant No.: Arts RP 15-18 / 0013245 Georgia Southern University PO Box 8077 Statesboro, GA 30460-8077 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address: 13. Type of Report and Period Georgia Department of Transportation Covered: Office of Research Final; December 2015 - May 2017 15 Kennedy Drive 14. Sponsoring Agency Code: Forest Park, GA 30297-2534 15. Supplementary Notes: Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. 16. Abstract: The research project’s purpose was to determine the most effective strategies, methods, and formats to inform the public about Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT) Work Program. The researchers investigated the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT) and other state DOTs to determine what methods to employ for best practices to get public involvement. The project also looked to mass communication scholars to determine better ways to get public input and understanding, which is integral to the work done by GDOT. The study is providing an actual guide outlining better ways to present information in order to inform the public about GDOT’s Work Program. The guide is inclusive of tools, visual formats, and strategies for the GDOT to provide the public with concise, understandable messaging in user-friendly formats, and to present approaches for keen invitations to comment and feedback as early as possible in the project life. As other state DOTs were examined, the conceptual guide recommends some best practices and successful strategies for improving content of meetings. After many individuals were surveyed for trust and knowledge about GDOT projects, recommendations were proposed to improve their participation in Public Meetings and Open Houses. Agenda setting and agenda building findings from the news media practitioners’ interviews allowed researchers to recommend effective options for preparation of GDOT news to media. Finally, systematic messaging strategies and measures were recommended to determine the success of the strategies along with tactics for early public involvement in the planning process. 17. Key Words: GDOT Work Program, Open Houses, public input, 18. Distribution Statement: news media, messaging strategies 19. Security Classification (of this 20. Security classification 21. Number 22. Price: report): Unclassified (of this page): Unclassified of Pages: 244 ii GDOT Research Project No. 15-18 Final Report DELIVERING GDOT’S WORK PROGRAM: DEVELOPING STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION AT PUBLIC MEETINGS AND OPEN HOUSES TO ENHANCE THE CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND AWARENESS OF NEED AND PURPOSE, TRANSPORTATION DEFICIENCIES, AND CONSEQUENCES OF NOT IMPLEMENTING IMPROVEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH GDOT’S PROPOSED WORK PROGRAM Submitted by Marcel Maghiar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Cheryl Aasheim, Ph.D., Professor Jennifer Kowalewski, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Gustavo Maldonado, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Management Georgia Southern University PO Box 8077, Statesboro, GA 30460-8077 Contract with Georgia Department of Transportation In cooperation with U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration May 2017 The contents of this report reflect the views of the author(s) who is (are) responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Georgia Department of Transportation or of the Federal Highway Administration. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION, OBJECTIVE, AND WORK PLAN ................................... 1 1.1 Introduction and Background Information ...................................................................... 1 1.2 Objective and Work Plan (description of tasks) ............................................................... 2 1.3 General Literature Review (critical to the main tasks) .................................................... 6 CHAPTER 2. BEST PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES OF STATE DEPARTMENTS OF TRANSPORTATION ................................................................................................................. 10 2.1 Survey to Other State Departments of Transportation ................................................. 10 2.2 Examination of Results ..................................................................................................... 10 2.3 Recommendation of the Best Practices and Successful Strategies for Improving Content of Meetings ................................................................................................................ 25 CHAPTER 3. INDIVIDUALS’ TRUST AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT GEORGIA DOT . 31 3.1 Background Information on Public Trust and Political Knowledge ............................ 31 3.2 Public Trust and Political Knowledge Considerations .................................................. 32 3.3 Survey to Determine Public Involvement ........................................................................ 39 3.4 Public Trust Findings ........................................................................................................ 47 3.5 Political Knowledge Findings ........................................................................................... 54 3.6 Public Meetings and Open Houses Findings ................................................................... 58 3.7 Recommendations to Improve Public Participation Based on Survey Findings ......... 66 CHAPTER 4. PROJECT VISUALIZATION STRATEGIES ................................................ 70 4.1 Investigation of User-Friendly Formats for Visuals - Other State DOTs .................... 70 4.2 Visualization Techniques to Drive Individuals to GDOT Website (recommendations for VERG) ................................................................................................................................ 75 4.3 Effective Use of Social Media Sites, Visualizations Available to the Media and Visual Preference Survey .................................................................................................................... 93 4.4 Plan for Using the Website and Other New Technology Formats ................................ 96 CHAPTER 5. NEWS MEDIA PRACTITIONERS AND PREPARATION OF GDOT NEWS TO MEDIA .................................................................................................................... 102 5.1 Agenda Setting and Agenda Building ............................................................................ 102 iv 5.2 Method - Qualitative Interviews .................................................................................... 109 5.3 Agenda Setting Findings ................................................................................................. 115 5.4 Agenda Building Findings – GDOT in General ............................................................ 118 5.5 Agenda Building Findings – Public Meetings ............................................................... 123 5.6 News Values ..................................................................................................................... 125 5.7 Conclusion and Recommendations for GDOT ............................................................. 127 CHAPTER 6. US DOT STRATEGY VERSUS OTHER STATE DOTS BEST PRACTICES ..................................................................................................................................................... 130 6.1 US DOT versus Other State DOTs Matrix ................................................................... 130 6.2 Systematic Messaging Strategies .................................................................................... 131 6.3 Recommended