On the basis of market research results and other analyses, a guide will be developed to assist state DOTs and other transportation agencies in more effectively and proactively communicating, to decision makers and the public, transportation's importance and contribution to the economy.

This continuation project will be directed to investigate the effectiveness of specific communication strategies that have been implemented by transportation agencies and to demonstrate how those strategies have been designed, implemented, and evaluated. The case studies will demonstrate the range of practices and assess the strengths and weaknesses of alternative communication strategies. Case studies will be selected to reflect both transportation programs and projects that have used economic benefits as a supporting rationale for support by decision makers and the general public. The resulting product will be prepared as a best-practices handbook that will accompany and augment the guide that practitioners can draw on during the design and implementation of a communications program.

The following tasks are envisioned to accomplish these objectives: (1) identify candidate case-studies; (2) select case-studies; (3) prepare interim report and meet with the panel; (4) evaluate case-study campaigns to assess effectiveness; (5) prepare case-study handbook; and (6) prepare final report.

Status: The project is complete. The revised draft final reports have been submitted. Two reports were prepared resulting from this research, including a Best Practices Digest and a final project report. A publication decision is pending.

Product Availability: The final report is available as NCHRP Web-Only Document 100.