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February 2007
CEO forum proceedings online
State department of transportation (DOT) chief executive officers (CEOs) and their top staff came together in Minneapolis last fall to share their experiences on three critical issues: roles and partnerships, customers and stakeholders, and funding and finance.
CTS conducted this third CEO Leadership Forum September 24 through 26, 2006, in association with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) . Funding support was provided by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP).
Titled “Advancing Practice in State DOTs from Good to Great,” the forum built on the success of two previous forums held in 2000 and 2003.
Prior to the 2006 event, current practices from select state DOTs related to the three themes were synthesized in white papers, which were then discussed in various sessions throughout the forum. Participants also were provided the chance to offer their recommendations, based on the discussions, for needed research and other actions.
CTS director Robert Johns, along with Mn/DOT deputy commissioner Doug Differt and AASHTO president Harold Linnenkohl, opened the event.
“There are a broad range of challenges facing our departments, many of them similar,” Differt said, “and it’s time for us to work on these things. We are all looking for innovation and creativity.” To do that, he added, “we need ongoing education and research. A lot of the innovative things we do [at Mn/DOT] start as research projects, and we rely on our partnership with CTS to get them done.”
A report summarizing the main events of the forum and listing the research action plans developed during the working sessions is available for download on the AASHTO Web site: www.transportation.org/meetings/CEOLeadership.