NCHRP Research Report 1134 presents a research roadmap for promoting knowledge management (KM) among state departments of transportation (DOTs) and other transportation agencies. The roadmap consists of 11 research problem statements covering a broad set of research needs that agencies at different stages of readiness for conducting KM research can undertake in support of their KM programs. The roadmap should be of particular use to state DOTs and any other transportation agency seeking to understand KM and identify relevant research needs to help promote and develop KM within their organization.
In most state DOTs, there continues to be a significant portion of the workforce eligible for retirement, which could lead to loss of institutional knowledge. Collaboration and interdisciplinary work are also increasing the need for effective, efficient, and timely knowledge transfer. State DOTs and other transportation agencies could benefit from KM techniques and practices to help identify, capture, and transfer institutional knowledge and support continuous learning. KM continues to evolve, particularly in the understanding of factors such as cognitive science, learning cultures, and knowledge risk. Some research has been conducted on KM and institutional knowledge in the transportation sector, but KM is still a new practice in that context. Previous NCHRP research provided guidelines on the fundamentals of agency-wide KM for state DOTs and examples from outside the transportation sector on how to start building a KM function within an organization. However, a national research roadmap on KM to support state DOTs and other transportation agencies has not been developed. Ultimately, such a roadmap could identify and prioritize the KM needs of transportation agencies and provide the foundation for maturation of the KM practice.
Under NCHRP Project 23-14, “Research Roadmap for Knowledge Management,” Spy Pond Partners, LLC, was asked to develop a research roadmap for KM in state DOTs and other transportation agencies. The roadmap design was to include systematic revisiting of research priorities to guide research and ensure its future relevancy. The roadmap was also to include the following elements: (1) description of research that should be conducted within the next 5 years; (2) 10 or more research problem statements suitable for submittal to NCHRP; (3) identification of relevant, active, and completed research that could benefit from a focused implementation effort; (4) implementation plans; and (5) prioritization of all research recommendations. A total of 11 research problem statements were developed: six for full research projects and five for implementation projects. The research problem statements are accompanied by communication and process management plans to foster implementation, with the roadmap indicating why each research need is critical, why it is important to state DOTs, and how these agencies could implement the results.
In addition to NCHRP Research Report 1134, the following deliverables can be found on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for NCHRP Research Report 1134.
1. A research brief summarizing the project objectives, scope, and deliverables.
2. A PowerPoint presentation on the communications plan for fostering dissemination of the roadmap.
