TxDOT Research Library - Publication Details

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Title:

Financial Achievability of the Florida Department of Transportation Research Projects: Putting the Financial Analysis Framework into Action

Report No.:

BDV30-977-12

Authors:

Submitted by Patricia H. Born, Randy E. Dumm, Robert J. Eger III

Published:

2018

Tallahassee, Florida

Florida. Department of Transportation

Type:

Online document

1 PDF (86 pages)

Online Access:

https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/36021

Access Note:

Link to report with PDF download option

Summary

The Florida State University Center for Insurance Research conducted research and developed a financial analysis framework, the Financial Achievability Model (FAM), that will allow the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Research Center to better assess research projects. In this report, the researchers illustrate the use of the FAM to evaluate the costs and benefits associated with eight FDOT research projects. The main focus of the research is to identify the challenges of putting the FAM into practice and to develop processes that facilitate this. The primary challenge is identifying sources of information that can show the potential benefits of the research. While FDOT project managers have become more accepting of the need to focus on the benefits of research, their ability to monetize research benefits is hindered by a lack of data. We provide a number of recommendations for developing a feasible data collection process and consider the respective roles of project managers and principle investigators in this process. We propose the use of project worksheets that vary depending on the type of project and identification of areas in which data is necessary for the evaluation. The framework is flexible and can be adapted for use in evaluating different types of projects, but project managers need guidance when considering the specific inputs to the model. Successful implementation of the framework within FDOT will require the establishment of a clear process for data collection that starts at the research kickoff presentation.

Publ. Place

Tallahassee, Florida

Notes

"February 2018"