Mid-America Regional Council Pilot of the Data Business Plan for State and Local Departments of Transportation: Data Business Plan

Chapter 5. Implementation Plan

Implementation is not a one-time event, but rather the policies, standards, and procedures identified in the Data Business Plan (DBP) should become part of the day-to-day business practices of Mid‑America Regional Council (MARC). The Data Coordination Council (DCC) may conduct regular workshops and meetings to implement the Plan, and all stakeholders are responsible for addressing the improvement items (identified in section 3). Discussions at meetings should include reports on implementation progress (e.g., tasks competed, tasks remaining) and any adjustments needed due to changing priorities, policies, standards, or legislative priorities. In addition, MARC should provide an annual report or briefing to senior management (i.e., the Department Director's Meeting) that provides an executive-level summary of data systems, status of integrating the data systems, regional collaboration, successes achieved or new enhancements needed for existing systems, and recommendations for how to address issues.

This section provides a proposed roadmap to implement this DBP through the following steps:

1. Establish the DCC by following section 4. Jim Hubbell to lead. By March 1, 2017:

   Co chairs:

   Jim Hubbell and Jay Heermann.

   Core Members:

   Ray Webb
   Karen Clawson
   Frank Lenk
   Kaitlyn Service
   Sasan Baharaeen
   Andrea Repinsky
   Paul Bushore
   Aaron Bartlett
   Amanda Graor
   Eileen Yang
   Whitney Morgan

   Other Members:

   Office Liaisons.

2. Hold First Meeting of DCC—Jim Hubbell and Jay Heermann. By April 30, 2017.

   Agenda Items for first meeting:

   1. Charter and MOU.
   2. Articulate charge of committee AND go back to UPWP to reference programs and link to DBP.
   3. Consider organizing and hosting a Data/Technology Summit with partner agencies and private sector vendors.
   4. Plan for items listed in 3 below.
3. Assign Tasks for DCC—Assign and plan timeframes for first year and responsible parties—Jim Hubbell and Jay Heermann.
   1. Meeting Plan—Set dates for monthly meetings and agendas of DCC for first year—Co chairs.
   2. Coordination with Department Directors—Set plans for quarterly updates to Department Directors.
   3. Develop business case for why a common LRS is necessary.
   4. Develop process for testing data projects—Develop and use a list of questions to test whether data initiatives/projects are valid and possibly use the list of questions in the quarterly data coordination meetings:
      1. What is the data for?
      2. Is the data in need already collected by someone else?
      3. What business need does it serve?
      4. Who else could use it? (Internal and external)
      5. What are the risks associated with NOT collecting the data?
      6. Can we request or set up the data so that it can be used for other purposes?
      7. What are the contractual restrictions?
      8. Can the contract be modified to minimize restrictions and allow for greater sharing?
   5. Define a system of better communication and collaboration among data users and collectors within MARC.
   6. Data Integration.
      1. Develop a data catalog to list all data, source and where it is housed (and who is responsible).
      2. Set internal standards in data collection, file storage, and organization among departments.
      3. Identify core datasets that are ripe for automation—start with core datasets from geographic information system (GIS) Data Inventory (Jay Heermann).
      4. Develop mechanism to automate datasets identified in previous substep.
   7. Identify Best Practices for Data Management.
      1. Review appendices G, H, and I for case studies and best practices from other agencies. Evaluate how to apply their lessons learned to MARC's data management needs and goals. Appendix G showcases regional data-sharing initiatives led by MARC; appendix H describes open data initiatives from across the country; and appendix I identifies best practices in data management initiatives from the City of Chicago and Delaware Valley Regional Planning Council (DVRPC).
   8. Address Needs by Data Type.
      1. Bicycle/Pedestrian Counts.
         1. Continue expanding the bicycle/pedestrian count data sharing model so that other jurisdictions may join. Discuss how to encourage more municipalities to join through data-sharing partnerships and explore partnering with vendor to expand coverage.
      2. Transit.
         1. Consider developing a regional initiative with Transit partners so that the region can agree on quality and standards of transit data for maximum benefit.
      3. Auto/Truck Speed.
         1. Assess the need for systematic collection of speed data.
         2. Evaluate resources needed (staff and tools) to better analyze probe speed data and develop a plan to target said needs.
      4. Vehicle/Truck Volume.
         1. Consider developing a regional initiative to set standards in volume data collection and processing.
         2. Come up with standard definitions and sharing mechanisms.
   9. Skill Development.
      1. Determine what needs to change for communication, staff training, job descriptions, and internal structures to improve data culture within MARC. Determine additional staff needs such as more data scientists.
      2. Review job assignments to make sure they are in line with MARC's data management needs; it may be necessary to add additional detail on staff skills.
      3. Determine whether MARC needs to hire staff with application development skills and/or with ability to create open data platform.
   10. Inventory.
       • Share GIS Inventory with DCC—Jay Heermann.
       • Complete MARC Inventory.
   11. Data Culture—Identify steps to change culture; do research on data culture to support better data management in agencies. Getting stakeholder buy-in requires a change in culture. “We appreciate data, but we don't appreciate organizing the data.” Data culture needs to account for:
       1. Staff training.
       2. Management support.
       3. Organizational structures.
   12. Prioritize data items for interoperability and determine core MARC datasets.
   13. Stakeholder Outreach Plan—External Collaboration.
       1. Build on stakeholder list and identify external stakeholders and outreach mechanism.
       2. Reach out to local governments to determine how to have more consistent regional data for vehicular and truck volumes, and how to make this data easier to be shared.
       3. Reach out to relevant stakeholders to determine a common definition of transit on‑time arrival across different agencies.
       4. Reach out to local governments to expand bicycle/pedestrian collaboration effort.
       5. Determine steps to develop and adopt a common network or a linear referencing system.
4. Other Ideas to Consider.
   1. Determine what tools are needed now and in the future to conduct performance management and work with Digital Transportation data.
   2. Determine what steps could be taken to improve the limitation that license agreements put on data sharing.
   3. Consider the creation of a Data Master Plan that ensures projects are planned programmatically.
   4. Consider having a mechanism to show how data management adds value—for instance, conduct a risk assessment.
   5. Develop an example memorandum of understanding (MOU) by mode.
   6. DBP needs to clearly explain why a common Linear Referencing System (LRS) is needed.
   7. How can MARC be more automated about data?
   8. Need to identify return on investments.
   9. Investigate idea of centralized data storage model.
   10. Add language in the DBP that indicates how the mobility data governance could be expanded to other areas.
   11. Seek to centralize data storage and data requests.
   12. Planning versus Operations: MARC hopes to better harness the potential use of operational data for its planning purposes. Right now, the agency has one set of tools and processes for its long-range planning processes, and another for the immediate future (e.g., Operation Greenlight).
   13. Monetizing Data: MARC staff hope the public sector in general can find more ways to monetize partnerships with the private sector. For example, WAZE may be a consideration.
   14. Open Data Portals. Develop methods to measure the success of an open data portal. Number of visits is not a good way; need to gauge how much people are using the portal and its data.

The execution of this DBP will position MARC to better manage its data processes, increase its technical capacity, perform analysis-driven policymaking, and expand its role as a leader in integrating regional data. This will, in turn, help the agency prepare for and embrace the challenges and opportunities that the Digital Transportation trend brings. Using the DCC as its coordinating body, MARC will be able to use data to better understand, collaborate, and make informed decisions in the region.