Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation (2018) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 19-46
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From page 19... ...
19 Based on results of the literature review, case studies, and feedback from more than 300 transportation professionals, five building blocks forming the basis of an innovation culture at DOTs were identified. Those building blocks, detailed in this section, include Leadership, Communication, Empowerment, Recognition, and Measurement.
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20 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation • Align innovation with agency strategic goals. Since joining ITD six years ago, the Director has established three strategic mission focus areas for the agency: safety, mobility, and economic growth and opportunity.
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Innovation Building Blocks 21 Director noted in launching Caltrans' STIC in 2015, "California's infrastructure is aging and our resources are increasingly becoming limited, so the need for innovation is essential." • Win over employees. An important role for leadership is getting all managers on board.
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22 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation saved. An autoreply email goes to the person who submitted an idea through SharePoint, encouraging them to reach out to their innovation stewards.
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Innovation Building Blocks 23 often frontline staff who have the trust and respect of their peers and share a passion for being early adopters. They are often supervisors or managers outside of the senior leadership team.
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24 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation • Make the case and get started now. If you wait for the perfect innovation process, you will never begin.
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Innovation Building Blocks 25 are more open to trying new approaches, which can be beneficial for an innovation culture. Seasoned innovators should reach out to new people to make sure they are aware of innovative efforts underway in the organization and encourage them to pursue their own ideas as well.
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26 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation Figure 10. Example of Innovation Fund website.
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Innovation Building Blocks 27 • Ideation Platforms. Some organizations use a digital platforms to get the benefits of crowdsourcing innovation, either internally or with the public.
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28 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation One employee in the Research Division, for example, studied better ways to distribute information via streaming video and audio over the ConnDOT intranet. Other employees studied the alleviation of highway congestion by diverting truck traffic to rail and waterways, and another looked for alternative methods to manage snow and ice.
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Innovation Building Blocks 29 overlaps, but this situation promotes healthy competition as innovations are ultimately judged on their merits. • Problem-solving teams.
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30 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation effective than trying to judge every idea and saying no to some, which shuts down innovation. Offer constructive criticism that rewards outside-the-box thinking and helps to enhance ideas that come forward.
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Innovation Building Blocks 31 Manage the Risk Management In the public sector, leaders are responsible for being good stewards of tax dollars, and it is critical to make sure that the organization is investing wisely in which ideas to pursue. Control risk by piloting risky innovations first, so the costs of failure are contained.
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32 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation Figure 13. Managing risk flowchart.
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Innovation Building Blocks 33 • Establish a process for submitting ideas. You do not need a fancy online portal to begin crowdsourcing ideas.
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34 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation • Provide training and emphasize its importance in generating new leaders. The lesson from the Kiewit and Google case studies was that ongoing training is a key ingredient in sustaining success.
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Innovation Building Blocks 35 • Caltran's "Just Do It" website. This internal, employee-only innovation crowdsourcing website is branded as "Just Do It." • Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)
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36 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation Publish Newsletters A regular print and/or digital newsletter gets the word out about innovation. Many DOT employees are not regularly at their desks checking the web, so print still has a place.
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Innovation Building Blocks 37 project-delivery acceleration, higher-quality projects requiring less maintenance, carbon footprint reduction, and response to climate change. Caltrans leadership attend innovation fairs, and presentations from I-fairs are available online, so all staff can stay abreast of industry innovations.
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38 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation • Have multiple employees deliver the message. Leaders at all levels should communicate the importance of innovation.
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Innovation Building Blocks 39 continually communicate the importance of innovation. By celebrating the agency's successes, it reinforces that innovation is a priority and a factor in an employee's advancement.
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40 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation • Caltrans Road to Motivation guide. Caltrans has a Road to Motivation Guide that provides managers with ideas for how they can recognize employees for little cost.
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Innovation Building Blocks 41 points to employees based on how many ideas and how many votes they submit. Employees are competitive about where they are in the innovation rankings, and the top point scorer is rewarded at the Annual Technology Summit with a plaque.
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42 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation • Start small and build up. You do not need a formal awards system to start recognizing employees.
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Innovation Building Blocks 43 4.5 Measurement Measuring Results Fuels Improvement Once you have the basics mastered -- leadership is engaged, employees are empowered, and communication is constant -- it is important track the performance of your innovation culture. Performance measurement helps you see what works and what does not, and it feeds communication.
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44 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation In the research team's survey of more than 300 transportation officials, 61 percent of respondents indicated that their organizations had no measures in place to track innovation. It can be difficult to determine what the proper metrics are, and there are always concerns about sharing the results, particularly if they are not impressive early in the process.
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Innovation Building Blocks 45 Measuring employee engagement can encompass more than totals. Under Innovation and Learning, the Program tracks the number of people who are involved in the program, the number of people who are new to participating in the program, and the number of different offices that are involved in the program.
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46 Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation for Departments of Transportation • Incorporate innovation into employee performance reviews. If employees know they will be evaluated on their innovation efforts, they will continue to make those efforts a priority.
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