MAP-21 and AASHTO’s framework for transportation asset management (TAM) offer opportunities to use more rigorous approaches to collect and apply evidence within a TAM context. This report documents the results of a study funded by the Georgia Department of Transportation, conducted by the Infrastructure Research Group (IRG) at Georgia Institute of Technology, to link TAM investments to outcomes. The study methodology includes a review of evidence-based approaches from various fields including healthcare, education and organizational management, an “evidence exchange” among transportation practitioners, and several case studies demonstrating how evidence can be gathered and used in TAM. The study identifies attributes of an evidence-based approach that can enhance AASHTO’s existing framework for TAM program advancement and decision making. These attributes are used to develop (1) a hierarchy of evidence that can inform evidence-based decision making (EBDM) for TAM, (2) a documentation framework for TAM that can be applied at the project and program levels to support evidence-based decisions, and (3) a prototype evidence database that can be used to accumulate the knowledge needed for evidence-based decision making in a TAM context. This study also applies evidence-based decision-making processes to provide guidance on how to develop higher quality evidence for TAM decision making. The documentation framework is used to synthesize and gather data on evidence related to TAM decision making, and this information was used to populate the TAM evidence database. The primary outcome of this work is a prototype TAM evidence database and resource for knowledge sharing that can assist transportation agencies in meeting the performance-based planning requirements of MAP-21.
Research Team:
Adjo Amekudzi-Kennedy (PI), Ph.D., Catherine Ross, Ph.D., (Co-PI); Michael Rodgers, Ph.D. (Co-PI), Frank Southworth, Ph.D. (Co-PI); Janille Smith-Colin, Jamie M. Fischer, Richard Boadi, Margaret-Avis Akofio-Sowah, Stephanie Amoaning-Yankson, Stefanie Brodie and Amy Ingles
Publication:
Smith-Colin, J., Fischer, J. M., Akofio-Sowah, M., and A. A. Amekudzi-Kennedy. Evidence-Based Decision Making for Transportation Asset Management: Enhancing the Practice with Quality Evidence and Systematic Documentation. Transportation Research Record, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2460, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2014, pp. 146-153. [Charley Wootan Award — 2015 Transportation Research Board Best Paper in Transportation Policy and Organization]