Evaluation of Programs in the Department of Transportation--An Assessment

The University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will soon enter its sixth program year. Program goals have been refined, center capabilities to meet goals have grown, and program funding has been reauthorized through federal fiscal year 1997 by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). To solidify these gains, DOT program staff has requested the assistance of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Research Council in developing a formal evaluation process and implementation plan to measure the progress of the centers on an ongoing basis. The recommendations of the study committee convened to carry out this task are presented in this report. The primary goal of the review process should be to provide feedback to centers and DOT on the quality of center programs and opportunities for their improvement. A key component of the review is to assess the extent to which the expected synergy, or value added, from funding centers instead of individual research and education projects is being realized.

An effective research program within a transportation organization can be a valuable asset to accomplish the goals of the overall mission. Determining whether a research program is pursuing relevant research projects and obtaining effective results for the sponsoring organization has been a challenge in the past. This thesis will present a methodology for conducting an evaluation of a research program within a transportation agency. The developed methodology is an evaluation process that encompasses a multilevel analysis that focuses on the outcomes, implementable benefits, and results that research projects and the research program has generated. The methodology provides ten performance measurements that are used to summarize the findings of the evaluation. These performance measurements are quantifiable, meaning they are designed to place a score or value on the accomplishments of the research program which can then be used to make managerial decisions for the research program. The developed methodology was implemented for the Wyoming Department of Transportation's Research Program to demonstrate how the methodology can be utilized. It was found that the WYDOT Research Program was an effective and valuable asset for WYDOT and the transportation community. Specific recommendations and conclusions for the WYDOT Research Program are presented in the final chapter of this thesis. Final recommendations for implementing the methodology for any other agency looking to perform an evaluation of their research program are also presented in the final chapter of this thesis.

"TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 741: Evaluation of Methodologies for Visual Impact Assessments evaluates visual impact assessment (VIA) procedures, methods, and practices that satisfy or exceed National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other requirements. The report documents VIA methodologies and approaches used in the United States and other countries, describes the decision making framework used to select specific VIA techniques for a given project, includes VIA best practice case studies from state departments of transportation, and highlights promising new developments in the field."--pub. desc.