The objective of this project was to prepare a synthesis of current practice and research regarding how DOTs are structured and the relationships of DOT structure to the organization’s performance in delivering services to their stakeholders. The Project was undertaken to provide factual bases for strategic planning by AASHTO's Subcommittee on Organization and Management (SOOM). The project entailed (1) a targeted review and synthesis of the literature on organizational design theory within DOTs and, more generically, in a range of public and private organizations, guided by phone interviews with a select small number of current or former DOT CEOs to gain their perspectives on the importance of organizational design for DOTs’ performance; (2) a survey of CEOs of state DOTs to provide benchmarking information on what DOT leaders in 2012 think about how their agencies’ organizational structures influence performance and where major opportunities exist to enhance performance through change in organizational design; and (3) analysis to identify key objectives and associated criteria that tend to drive DOT decisions about organizational structure and a typology for characterizing the various organizational approaches that are currently used by DOTs. The final report documenting the project and describing how selected DOTs have appled and adapted organizational models to fit their unique needs and circumstances is available here.
