Evaluating Sustainability Approaches of Transportation Agencies through a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Framework

Abstract

A national survey of state departments of transportation (DOTs) indicated that such agencies were engaged in a variety of activities to address sustainability issues associated with transportation planning, design, and operations. These activities ranged from piecemeal environmental practices such as roadside mowing policies to comprehensive planning frameworks. However, state DOTs in general did not have sufficient policies or practices in place to evaluate and prioritize investment options that would promote environmental sustainability and sustainable development. For this research, a mixed-methods design that used an expert panel and case studies of individual state DOTs was used to develop, test, and evaluate a strategic planning tool that could help DOTs evolve more sustainable practices. The self-assessment tool was designed to guide agencies through the identification of internal strengths and weaknesses in their planning frameworks and organizational structure and culture, characterization of features of the external environment as opportunities or threats, prioritization of areas for strategy development, and development of strategies that link the internal and external environments. Such a tool can also be used to monitor progress over time. The tool was tested by seven state DOTs. Three prominent themes were revealed: the importance of process in addition to content, integration between sustainability policies and implementation, and internal communication of the need and nature of change. The results of this study and of previous research suggest that the sustainability approaches of DOTs are at various levels of maturity and the compartmentalization of sustainability within the organizations is characteristic of earlier maturity levels.