National Academies Press: OpenBook
Page i
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22098.
×
Page R1
Page ii
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22098.
×
Page R2
Page iii
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22098.
×
Page R3
Page iv
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22098.
×
Page R4
Page v
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22098.
×
Page R5
Page vi
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22098.
×
Page R6
Page vii
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22098.
×
Page R7
Page viii
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22098.
×
Page R8

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP REPORT 813 A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation Spy Pond Partners, llc Arlington, MA Subscriber Categories Administration and Management • Data and Information Technology • Education and Training TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2015 www.TRB.org Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective approach to the solution of many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program employing modern scientific techniques. This program is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of the Association and it receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies was requested by the Association to administer the research program because of the Board’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this purpose as it maintains an extensive committee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; its relationship to the National Research Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains a full-time research correlation staff of specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those who are in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators of the highway and transportation departments and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific areas of research needs to be included in the program are proposed to the National Research Council and the Board by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Research projects to fulfill these needs are defined by the Board, and qualified research agencies are selected from those that have submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Research Council and the Transportation Research Board. The needs for highway research are many, and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement rather than to substitute for or duplicate other highway research programs. Published reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at: http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America NCHRP REPORT 813 Project 20-98 ISSN 0077-5614 ISBN 978-0-309-30887-8 Library of Congress Control Number 2015946529 © 2015 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The members of the technical panel selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president. The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president. The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine. Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.national-academies.org. The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major programs of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to increase the benefits that transportation contributes to society by providing leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.

C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 813 christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs christopher Hedges, Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Andrew c. lemer, Senior Program Officer Sheila Moore, Program Associate Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Scott E. Hitchcock, Editor NCHRP PROJECT 20-98 PANEL Field of Special Projects David S. Ekern, DSEkern Consult, Biwabik, MN (Chair) Maureen Hammer, Virginia DOT, Charlottesville, VA Brian D. Burk, Texas DOT, Austin, TX Becky Burk, Maryland State Highway Administration, Baltimore, MD camille crichton-Sumners, New Jersey DOT, Trenton, NJ Elizabeth J. Greer, Noblis, Inc., Falls Church, VA cristiana Rojas, California DOT, Sacramento, CA Rick A. Smith, University of Texas-Austin, Austin, TX Mary E. Moulton, RITA Liaison Robert W. Turner, FHWA Liaison lisa loyo, TRB Liaison Thomas Palmerlee, TRB Liaison

F O R E W O R D NCHRP Report 813: A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation presents guidance for state transportation agencies on adopting an explicit knowledge management (KM) strategy and the ways that organizations have successfully implemented such strategies. KM is an umbrella term for a variety of techniques for preserv- ing and enhancing the knowledge of an organization’s employees and effectively employing that knowledge as a productive asset. The goal of KM is to enhance organizational effective- ness and efficiency by facilitating mobilization and productive employment of this knowl- edge. This guide is designed to be a starting point for agencies interested in implementing KM, and will be helpful particularly to senior- and mid-level management staff responsible for the agency’s strategic direction as well as others seeking to put KM into practice. The knowledge that any organization possesses is a valuable asset to be applied in pursuit of the organization’s mission. That knowledge resides with the organization’s staff and in myriad files, manuals, databases, and other forms distributed throughout the organization, which staff members may use. State departments of transportation (DOTs) rely on this knowledge to pursue their missions: the management of the complex systems of facilities and services that support our nation’s economy and quality of life. DOTs face many challenges in effectively maintaining and applying their knowledge assets. For example, employees depart through retirements, downsizing, and reorganiza- tion; and physical and electronic information resources become inaccessible or underutilized because of technology change or loss of staff. Failures to take advantage of experience reduce organizational productivity. The changing character of the workforce is requiring changes in techniques for knowledge capture and transfer. In addition, the evolving mission of the DOT raises needs for new knowledge. KM comprises the set of principles and practices an organization can use to identify, capture, organize, preserve, disseminate, share, and apply critical knowledge in pursuit of the organization’s strategic mission. Effective KM helps ensure that people have the knowl- edge they need to do their work and make good decisions, that they have the knowledge when they need it, and that they understand why and how this knowledge can be useful. KM practices and tools help an organization avoid knowledge loss; promote knowledge capture, preservation, and sharing; and facilitate access to useful knowledge and its applica- tion. These practices and tools have been developed and adopted by a range of private- and public-sector organizations, but currently are not widely used by DOTs. The objective of NCHRP Project 20-98: A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation was to develop a guide to the fundamentals of agency-wide KM for state DOTs. This guide presents (a) the meaning of agency-wide KM By Andrew C. Lemer Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

and motivations for its application within a state DOT context; (b) typical KM strategies and processes for developing an agency-specific strategy; (c) steps in developing an agency- wide KM plan and the roles of state DOT leadership and staff in the plan development and execution; (d) performance measures and procedures for assessing KM effectiveness; and (e) the key factors underlying successful agency-wide KM. The guide is meant to inform state DOT leadership and staff on the benefits of KM and assist them in applying and sus- taining KM in their agencies. This guide is intended to be an introduction to the subject; additional NCHRP-sponsored research work will supplement this guide. This initial research was conducted by a team led by Spy Pond Partners, LLC, of Arling- ton, MA. The research team conducted a critical review of literature and KM practices in a variety of public- and private-sector organizations. This review was informed by a survey of leading practices conducted under NCHRP Project 20-68A: U.S. Domestic Scan Program. Users of this guide may find the report of that survey to be a useful supplement to this guidance material; the report is available for download from the NCHRP web site at http:// onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/docs/NCHRP20-68A_12-04.pdf. From examples such as those documented in the scan report and described elsewhere, the research team developed a framework for assessing how KM can be useful to an agency and for crafting a strategy for implementing and monitoring KM practices. The step-by- step process for applying the framework is illustrated with examples from agencies that have adopted KM to support such tasks as management succession planning, talent manage- ment, building communities of practice, and retaining institutional knowledge. A glossary of terms and references to readily available supplemental materials are included to make the guide immediately useful to agency staff at all levels. The guide is supplemented by a slide presentation that may be useful for introducing KM principles and guide agency staff; the presentation is available online at www.trb.org by searching for “NCHRP Report 813.”

Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State DOTs Contents SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................................. 1 ROADMAP TO THE GUIDE ....................................................................................................................... 7 UNDERSTANDING KM ............................................................................................................................. 9 TALKING ABOUT KM ............................................................................................................................................ 9 KM FOR TRANSPORTATION AGENCIES .............................................................................................................. 12 KEY ELEMENTS OF AGENCY-WIDE KM .............................................................................................................. 15 IMPLEMENTING KM .............................................................................................................................. 17 STEP 1: ASSESS RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES ..................................................................................................... 17 STEP 2: DEVELOP A KM STRATEGY .................................................................................................................... 21 STEP 3: CREATE A KM IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ............................................................................................... 28 STEP 4: MONITOR RESULTS ............................................................................................................................... 36 LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE ............................................................................................................... 43 TRANSPORTATION AGENCIES WITH KM INITIATIVES ....................................................................................... 43 SELECTED REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................... 45 GLOSSARY ........................................................................................................................................................... 49 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ................................................................................................................................... 53

Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State DOTs Acronyms AAR – After Action Review AIIM – Association for Information and Image Management Alaska DOT & PF – Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Caltrans – California Department of Transportation CKO – Chief Knowledge Officer CoP – Community of Practice DOT – Department of Transportation FTA – Federal Transit Administration FTE – Full Time Equivalent GDOT – Georgia Department of Transportation HR – Human Resources IM – Information Management IRMT – International Records Management Trust ISO – International Standards Organization IT – Information Technology KM – Knowledge Management KPI – Key Performance Indicator LL – Lessons Learned MASK – Method of Analyzing and Structuring Knowledge NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Administration ROI – Return on Investment SAA – Society of American Archivists SME – Subject Matter Expert TRAC – Transportation Center TRB – Transportation Research Board TVA – Tennessee Valley Authority USAID – United States Agency for International Development USDOT – United States Department of Transportation VDOT – Virginia Department of Transportation WisDOT – Wisconsin Department of Transportation

Next: Summary »
A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation Get This Book
×
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 813: A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation presents guidance for state transportation agencies on adopting an explicit knowledge management (KM) strategy and the ways that organizations have implemented such strategies. KM is an umbrella term for a variety of techniques for preserving and enhancing the knowledge of an organization’s employees and effectively employing that knowledge as a productive asset.

A PowerPoint Presentation also accompanies the report.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!