Since the publication of NCHRP Report 813: A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation (2015), knowledge management (KM) has gained traction within the transportation community. AASHTO created the Committee on Knowledge Management in 2018, and TRB created the Committee on Information and Knowledge Management in 2019. A growing number of state departments of transportation (DOTs) have begun to implement various aspects of KM, and there is heightened awareness of workforce-related challenges and risks. However, there is not yet a critical mass of state DOTs with active and sustained KM programs.

Stakeholder outreach activities conducted as part of NCHRP Project 23-14, “Research Roadmap for Knowledge Management” found that while NCHRP Report 813 is viewed as a valuable resource, there is a need for more detailed and practical guidance on organizing and coordinating KM in a state DOT and integrating KM practices into various state DOT functional areas. Agencies also are seeking a DOT-specific maturity model for KM implementation and a way to benchmark and track their KM implementation progress. A KM manual for state DOTs would meet these needs, building on and supplementing the more general, top-down KM implementation guidelines provided by NCHRP Report 813. An emphasis on integrating KM practices within different state DOT functions would help agencies to make KM more sustainable by expanding the breadth, coordination, and reach of KM implementation within their organizations.

The objective of this project is to create a KM implementation manual that will help state DOTs to address workforce challenges, gain efficiencies, and improve resilience to meet changing needs. 

• The first phase of the project will investigate current practices for knowledge creation, sharing, and application as part of different state DOT business areas and situations and, based on this investigation, develop a KM implementation framework and maturity model. This work will examine and adapt existing public and private sector KM frameworks and models for application within state DOTs.
• The second phase of the project will build on this foundation and develop a manual that can be used by state DOTs for planning, resourcing, coordinating, and executing KM strategies and techniques. The manual will address KM implementation activities in multiple state DOT functional areas. It will illustrate KM applications in response to multiple situations including new legislative mandates, introduction of new technologies or methods, and changes in remote work policies.