Skip to main content

New communications guide for state DOTs released

A research study conducted on behalf of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program concludes that now more than ever public agencies should communicate under an integrated structure using strategic communications planning to effectively engage with stakeholders, customers and the public. Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and led by WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, the two-year research study is condensed in a Communications Guide for State Department
February 23, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
A research study conducted on behalf of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program concludes that now more than ever public agencies should communicate under an integrated structure using strategic communications planning to effectively engage with stakeholders, customers and the public.

Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and led by 8556 WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, the two-year research study is condensed in a Communications Guide for State Departments of Transportation that is available free through AASHTO and from WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff.

AASHTO says the guide can be an important tool for any transportation agency looking to align its public outreach with its organisational goals and priorities. By capturing best practices and sharing success stories, this guide provides an in-depth look at strategies for both the organisational leader and the practitioner that can streamline and improve communications programs.

The research project involved a series of surveys; personal interviews with communicators, outside experts, public agency CEOs, and other leaders in state departments of transportation; as well as a review of effective communications practices in the public and private sector. The guide includes resources such as templates, graphics, and other tools to illustrate the strategies and practices that have been or may be used successfully by communications teams. The guidelines also include the role, purpose, and importance of communications functions and how these functions should be organizationally structured, coordinated, and aligned with agency leadership and goals.

Related Content

  • January 26, 2022
    Full 5.9 GHz needed to stop 'devastating' deaths
    ITS America and AASHTO again argue on V2X safety grounds against FCC spectrum decision
  • October 8, 2021
    MobilityXX: ‘Women pay more for safe transport’
    Laura Chace, new boss of ITS America, is fully behind the MobilityXX initiative, which promotes the role of women in transportation. She tells Adam Hill why the ’10 by 10’ target is so important…
  • May 27, 2014
    Connecticut Transit uses web feedback to improve user experience
    Connecticut champions open government and open data to help fostertransparency, accountability and citizen engagement – and that includes transportation matters as Andrew Bardin Williams discovers. The last thing anyone wanted was to inconvenience or displace others - least of all people who lived and worked in the neighbourhood. Yet, workers in an office building in downtown New Haven, Conn., were tired of shuffling through hoards of people who kept sitting on the stoop to the building while waiting for th
  • April 15, 2013
    Meeting overview and highlights
    This year's Annual Meeting and Exposition in Nashville, Tenn., features more public sector participation than ever before. The event will kick off on Sunday, April 21 with a State DOT Roundtable featuring 20 State DOT CEOs from across the country, as well as feature senior US Department of Transportation (DOT) officials including Under Secretary for Policy Polly Trottenberg, Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez, National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland, Federal Motor Carrier Saf