Laying the Groundwork for Improvement – Breakout Sessions

Barriers and Obstacles and How They Can Be Overcome

Prior to listening to the various presentations of real world outreach examples, the focus state workshop participants were asked to identify barriers and obstacles to implementing work zone communication and outreach strategies. Specifically, they were asked to answer the question:

What are the general or project-specific barriers and obstacles that you face in implementing communications and outreach strategies for your work zone projects?

In a large group brainstorming session, the participants identified a number of barriers and obstacles, which were synthesized into the following list:

Low management/leadership support for outreach funding
Agencies are under-staffed: Outreach is not a full time job responsibility and often competes with many other projects/priorities
Getting buy-in from all stakeholders involved in outreach. Many stakeholders may not see the value in outreach.
Maintaining focus on continued outreach throughout the project cycle – this is necessary in order to keep information on web sites and other materials current.
Mistaking project advisory committees for outreach
Conflicting target audiences (i.e., tourists versus general public)
Reaching irregular target audiences (interstate traffic, tourism, rural areas, etc.). Brochures and other outreach mechanisms are effective when the travelers are regular commuters through the area, but these mechanisms may not work as well in rural or tourist areas.
Inaccurate information – maintaining accuracy of information throughout the project lifecycle

Following the identification of the barriers and obstacles, the workshop participants heard presentations about successful outreach strategies. The workshop was organized in this manner to allow participants to first identify the barriers and obstacles they face, then have an opportunity to listen to others who have faced these barriers and hear how they overcame them, and then use what they heard to think of ways that they can overcome the identified barriers and obstacles. In this next breakout session, the participants were asked:

What specific strategies could be implemented to overcome the identified obstacles and improve work zone communications and outreach efforts?

The identified barriers/obstacles and strategies for overcoming them are shown in Table 3. Due to time constraints, after identifying strategies for the first two barriers/obstacles, the participants were asked to select from the remaining barriers/obstacles the greatest obstacle they might face in implementing outreach for work zones. Through a raised hand voting process, the participants selected, "Getting buy-in from all stakeholders involved in outreach" and they then identified strategies to overcome this barrier/obstacle. The participants were asked to continue to think in their own time of strategies to overcome the remaining barriers and obstacles.

Table 2 – Barriers/Obstacles and Strategies for Overcoming Them as Identified in the Work Zone Focus State Workshop
Barrier/Obstacle	Strategies for Overcoming Barriers/Obstacles
There is often low management/leadership support for outreach funding.	Need agency buy-in for infrastructure that will support outreach, such as a program in a highway bill that has dedicated funding in it for outreach. Make a list of specific contacts, partners, etc. Make the case to leadership that funding outreach is important (i.e., aspect of managing traffic) It is not a matter of funds not being available, it's a matter of convincing leadership that outreach is the right place to spend the funds. The final rule is a good start but it's tough to wrestle a pot of money away from people who have had it for 50 years. Re-label or "package" outreach as congestion management, incident management, etc. Market outreach as a percentage of total contract cost Gain agency buy-in and commitment to outreach, stress the use of existing 511 systems, Traveler Information Management System (TIMS), infrastructure to support outreach. Need top-level commitment Coordinate "free" partners (like media, newspapers). Make connections with the media to encourage them to provide deals such as 2 for the price of 1 for advertisements. Seek out and nurture financing partnerships with organizations that will share funding. Consider developing State standards for funding outreach at various levels depending on size of project. (i.e., for projects of $x thousand to $y thousand, dedicate a% of project budget to outreach; for projects of $z million to $w million, dedicate b% of project budget to outreach; etc.) Obtain seed money from FHWA. Obtain specific examples of successes that can help entice management to support spending on outreach.
Agencies are under-staffed: outreach is not a full time role and usually competes with many other projects and priorities.	Locate outreach staff near the project (like the Virginia Springfield Interchange store). Outsource some of the outreach (PR firm, etc.) to maximize your time. In North Dakota they realized they were understaffed so they hired a PR firm. However, Kevin Gorder of ND DOT makes the time for outreach for projects in his region because it is so valuable, but that isn't his full time job. Demonstrate to management that this is a full time job to give them the incentive to find someone who can do this full time. Perform a cost-benefit analysis – Develop case studies that illustrate value In Wisconsin they have done a lot of ITS projects where data has been collected. They haven't calculated benefit relative to the cost, but they have found that public outreach at the beginning of the project was so good that it took 30-35% of the traffic away. A lot of states probably have pieces of data available that could help demonstrate benefit Treat construction in a work zone as a special event or incident and then outreach becomes part of transportation demand management strategy. With Caltrans in the 1984 Olympics they scared so many people with how bad the traffic was going to be that there wasn't any traffic.
Getting buy-in from all stakeholders involved in outreach is difficult.	Maximize use of established stakeholder groups (such as business advisory groups). In Wisconsin, for the Marquette Interchange project, they had an incident management program in which stakeholders met every week. Clearly define what is in it for them (visualize end result). Use language familiar to stakeholders. Involve a PR firm to help identify stakeholders. Make stakeholders part of the solution (ex., mall in Fargo). Launch a marketing effort. Provide relevant information up front to stakeholders (keep stakeholders looking good). Engage/require contractors to provide a Public Information person. Document lessons learned for future use. If it is realized that a stakeholder group was left out for a project, then it can be documented as a lesson learned so that the agency remembers to include them in outreach for the next project. Use word of mouth to reach secondary/tertiary stakeholders. This really worked in Fargo – having the business people talk to their business and home neighbors, as well as customers, helped to expand the outreach network.

Developing an Outreach Strategy Framework and Action Plan

After identifying the barriers/obstacles and strategies for overcoming them, the remainder of the workshop was focused on developing the framework for an outreach strategy for each participating State. As mentioned previously, each State was asked to come with a specific project in mind for which they would use the workshop to initiate an outreach strategy. While the majority of the States in attendance did focus on a specific project, two of the States (California and Wisconsin) chose a different route. These States decided to focus on improving outreach for broader topics, rather than for one specific project. The States, their project or outreach focus, and outreach goals are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 – Selected State Projects and Outreach Goals
State	Project	Outreach Goals
Project Specific
Arizona	SR 179 – Oak Creek Canyon, 2 projects, widening/new alignment of shoulder and pathways	Minimize disruption to businesses, get them involved in process Reach out to tourists/visitors – specific audience Facilitate construction
Montana	US 93 Corridor	Provide accurate and timely information to stakeholders Reduce or eliminate work zone congestion Enhance safety of workers, motorists, and pedestrians
New Hampshire	Salem-Manchester 104/8 (I-93 Reconstruction/Widening)	Public outreach during construction (including businesses, communities, commuters, tourists, etc.) Maintain public mobility Mitigate/minimize business inconvenience Provide tourism information
Rhode Island	Safety improvement to I-95 (from I-195 to Ind. Dr. Br.)	Inform motoring public when to expect lane and ramp closures (restrictions in contract) Coordinate with business venues in surrounding area Coordinate with emergency response (police, fire, hospital)
General
California	Improve State TMP guidelines	Institutionalize/incorporate outreach framework in TMP guidelines Create district champions and implement winning TMPs
Wisconsin	Training Strategy for Regions on Traveler Information Tools and Outreach	Improve effectiveness of messages delivered to the public by our portable changeable message signs

Each State was asked to work in their State DOT/FHWA pair to develop a framework for their outreach strategy, identifying:

The overall outreach goal
General timeframe
The target audience(s)
Initial messages
Potential mechanisms/materials for the strategy
Potential outreach channels/distribution opportunities
Partners
Measures/indicators of effectiveness

Following the development of the framework, each State was then asked to develop an action plan for implementing the framework, identifying:

The specific steps that need to be taken in order to implement the outreach strategy
Timeframe
Resources needed
Who needs to be involved (person/office responsible)

Each State was given a set of templates to help them shape their outreach framework and action plan. The templates are included in Appendix D. The State pairs were broken into two rooms. While each pair was asked to work on their own outreach framework and action plan, they were encouraged to work with the other State pairs to collaborate and share ideas. In addition, each room was assigned one or two presenters from earlier in the day to serve as "subject matter experts" who could answer questions as needed.

The targeted end result of developing the framework and action for an outreach strategy was that participants would have something concrete to share with their upper management when they returned home in order to try to gain buy-in for the outreach strategy. In addition, the framework and action plan can serve as a starting point for determining what support FHWA could provide to each State once the States gained approval from management on the strategy. Participants were encouraged to use what they heard in the presentations, as well as to use example materials provided to them, to help them develop their outreach strategies and action plans. They were also encouraged to follow the recommendation that in order to adequately spread the outreach messages, the target audience should hear the message at least 7 times from at least 3 different products (web sites, brochures, radio announcements, etc.)

As can be seen in Table 3, three of the four States that focused on a specific project included the goal of reaching out to and coordinating with surrounding businesses. This point was strongly stressed during the presentations in the earlier part of the day. Gaining the support of surrounding businesses can help improve traffic flow through the work zone (if businesses agree to change delivery schedules or communicate to customers new traffic patterns) and can help spread the word about the project through various business groups and through word of mouth from businesses to customers. In addition to focusing on the surrounding business aspect, two of the four project-specific states noted the goal of reaching out to tourists. As noted in the barrier and obstacles session, it is easy to reach out to commuters who travel through the work zone area on a daily business, but it is more difficult to inform tourists or infrequent visitors. One suggestion heard during the workshop was using local hotels along the corridor where the project is going to be located to help spread the message about the project.

Other commonalities seen among the frameworks and action plans included:

Improving safety and mobility was a common theme across all outreach strategy frameworks.
Four of the six states chose to allocate 1% of total project budget to outreach (the other two states did not indicate a percentage). This seemed to be a common thread among the presentations earlier in the day.
Three of the six states indicated that emergency responders would be included in the target audience.
"Plan ahead" was a common message, indicated in several different forms, throughout the strategy frameworks.
Use of web sites and the media was seen in four of the six strategy frameworks

After spending time developing the framework and action plan, each State was asked to share what they had come up with in front of the large group, identifying the:

Goal of the Plan
Target Audience
Key Messages
Materials/Outreach Mechanisms
Distribution Opportunities
General Timeline
General Sense of Cost

The participants were given the following scenario and asked to present as if they were in this scenario:

There is a pre-kickoff meeting tomorrow at 10am for your project. Many of the key stakeholders you need for your outreach strategy to be a success will be there, including a couple of reporters who are curious about the project.

This is your chance to engage them early on in the success of your outreach. You know you can't do it alone and you need them to buy-in to helping you in some way.

The participants were told that their goal in presenting was to make the stakeholders aware that there will be an outreach strategy, giving them a general sense of how it might shape up, and soliciting their general willingness to help out when the time comes. They were also told to listen closely to the other presentations and offer suggestions or ask questions to help each State improve upon their outreach strategy.

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