NCHRP 20-24(62) Making the Case for Transportation Investment and Revenue Requested by American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Prepared by October 2009 The information contained in this report was prepared as part of NCHRP Project 20-24(62), National Cooperative Highway Research Program. Special Note: This report IS NOT an official publication of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, or The National Academies. Acknowledgements This study was requested by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and conducted as part of National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 20-24. The NCHRP is supported by annual voluntary contributions from the state Departments of Transportation (DOT). Project 20-24 is intended to fund studies of interest to the leadership of AASHTO and its member DOTs. The report was prepared by Hal Kassoff and Wayne McDaniel, ably supported by Kimberly Farley, Reno Giordano, Lauren Isaac, and Dorothy Skans, all of Parsons Brinckerhoff, and Ray Pethtel with Virginia Tech. The work was guided by a technical working group which included Carlos Braceras, Utah DOT; Heather Copp, Colorado DOT; Thomas Daniel, Vermont Agency of Transportation; Daniel Franklin, Iowa DOT; Richard Hogg, Pennsylvania DOT; and AASHTO Liaison Jack Basso. The project was managed by Andrew C. Lemer, Ph. D., NCHRP Senior Program Officer. Disclaimer The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board or its sponsoring agencies. This report has not been reviewed or accepted by the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee or the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ ES-1 Are you ready to ask for additional funding? ................................................................................. ES-2 Essential Elements Necessary for Success ....................................................................................... ES-3 Tactical Toolkit .......................................................................................................................................... ES-4 Case Summaries: Summarizing Lessons Learned ......................................................................... ES-6 Chapter 1—The Essential Guide for Senior Staff ............................................................... 1-1 Are you ready to ask for additional funding? ................................................................................... 1-1 Are you ready to ask for additional funding for your program? [checklist] ........................... 1-8 Essential Elements Necessary for Success ......................................................................................... 1-9 Creating a Winning Strategy ................................................................................................................ 1-12 Lessons Learned—What Can Undermine Success? ..................................................................... 1-21 Chapter 2—Tactical Toolkit ................................................................................................. 2-1 Messages ...................................................................................................................................................... 2-1 Methods ........................................................................................................................................................ 2-5 Tools ............................................................................................................................................................... 2-8 Chapter 3—Case Studies: Summarizing Lessons Learned ................................................ 3-1 California ...................................................................................................................................................... 3-1 Maricopa County ....................................................................................................................................... 3-2 Maryland ....................................................................................................................................................... 3-4 Minnesota .................................................................................................................................................... 3-5 New York City .............................................................................................................................................. 3-6 Ohio ................................................................................................................................................................ 3-7 Texas .............................................................................................................................................................. 3-8 Utah .............................................................................................................................................................. 3-10 Virginia ........................................................................................................................................................ 3-11 Washington State .................................................................................................................................... 3-12 Federal ......................................................................................................................................................... 3-14 Appendix—Case Studies NCHRP 20-24(62) i Executive Summary The headlines are daunting: · In Ohio, “Official warned of possible bridge What should I read if my time is limited? failure” Because of the extraordinary demands · “Los Angeles beats New York—in Traffic placed on transportation CEOs and senior Congestion” managers’ time, reading this Executive · In Michigan, “As Maintenance Needs go Summary may have to substitute for Unfunded, Drivers Pay” reading the entire report. However, since we recognize that for most senior trans- portation officials this topic is possibly the In this era of decaying transportation infrastructure and most urgent in the long list of challenging spiraling costs, agencies find that their limited resources issues faced by agencies, we suggest are not meeting the growing needs. Chief executive taking the time to read Chapter 1—The officers (CEOs) and management teams of nearly every Essential Guide for Senior Managers. This brief chapter is really the core of the report. transportation agency across the nation are seeking It has been written for “readability” as an additional funding. (Any management team not doing so inducement for you to take the time to might well be asking themselves why not.) With this in read the full document. mind, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Board of Directors requested this NCHRP research project with a title of Identification of Marketing Tools that Resonate with Lawmakers and Key Stakeholders to Support and Increase Funding and Revenue for the Nation’s Transportation System. In keeping with the recommendations contained herein, the title has been shortened to Making the Case for Transportation Investment and Revenue. To meet the needs of this project, researchers investigated 11 case studies to identify common themes and lessons learned on this crucial topic. Researchers investigated cases where agencies were successful in their funding initiatives, cases where they were not, and cases where agencies made multiple attempts with mixed results. This document is arranged into three chapters and one appendix: Chapter 1—The Essential Guide for Senior Staff helps you determine whether your agency is ready to ask for NCHRP 20-24(62) ES-1 additional funding, provides steps you might take to get on the road to success, and identifies potential pitfalls to avoid. Chapter 2—The Tactical Toolkit gives you examples of winning messages, describes the pros and cons to engaging in outreach, education, and marketing, and describes tools commonly used to engage audiences. Chapter 3—Case Studies: Summarizing Lessons Credibility is key. Learned briefly describes the context and lessons Some agencies enjoy a longstanding learned from each of the cases researched. Unique tradition of credibility, project delivery prowess and strong relationships with state factors the researchers found are also described. legislators and other key decision-makers. This credibility worked to their advantage Appendix—Full Case Studies. For a more in-depth when requesting funding increases. In other understanding of what each agency faced, how they states, when past difficulties with credibility dealt with difficulties, and how they won (or lost) and program performance (real or per- ceived) were improved, their turnaround their battles, we have included full case studies. You was seen as a key to their success. may find that other states have had to overcome hurdles that you now face. Are you ready to ask for additional funding? The first step when considering whether you are ready to pursue a transportation funding initiative is to do a candid and critical appraisal of your agency. Are you ready and able