SNAPSHOTS OF PLANNING PRACTICES:
DATA SHARING
FOR PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

WHY SHARE DATA?

Advanced technologies have enabled the collection and storage of vast amounts of data to support the planning and operation of transportation systems. These rich data sources can allow data to be combined across modes and operational environments in new ways. In doing so, these data can create a more complete picture of how policy, infrastructure, and service changes affect the performance of transportation systems. Data sharing is vital for effective performance management. A centralized and easily sharable data repository enables agencies to increase centralization, enhance collaboration, reduce duplication, and boost efficiency. Data sharing promotes greater transparency with the public and agency partners. Performance indicators derived from shared data can lead to continuous improvement and increased efficiency.

SNAPSHOTS OF PLANNING PRACTICES:
DATA SHARING | KEY PRACTICES

Different organizations might optimize their approach towards data sharing for performance management focusing on one or more “levers of change” within their organization. These levers of change – Organization, Workforce, and Partnerships; Data and Performance Management; and Policy and Program Design – are the organizing framework of these key practices. This structure is intended to offer practices in each area so that organizations can choose where to focus their energy and resources. The practices are divided into three categories: 1) “Designing” describes practices, examples, and resources relevant to agencies who are new to the topic area or setting up a new program, 2) “Enhancing” describes practices among agencies that are expanding or growing their efforts in a area and taking on increasingly complex aspects of the topic., and 3) “Advancing” describes practices, examples, and resources relevant to agencies that are innovating or establishing new practices in a topic area.

DESIGNING

Exemplary practices for agencies that are new to using Data Sharing for Performance Management.

ORGANIZATION, WORKFORCE, AND PARTNERSHIPS:

Identifying staff within the organization that have the capacity and expertise to engage in performance data collection, management, and sharing efforts. Identifying any gaps in staff capacity or skills.

Establishing relationships with key stakeholders, including other agencies and the private sector, for performance data collection and sharing.

DATA AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT:

Creating an inventory of existing data collection and management efforts and conducting a needs assessment to identify gaps in the existing data.

Establishing a performance process for data collection and storage. Identifying data sharing opportunities with stakeholders, the private sector, the public, and other agencies.

POLICY AND PROGRAM DESIGN:

Beginning tool development for performance data storage and sharing. Initially, mapping tools (e.g., GIS) may be used as central repositories for multiple data sources.

Convening appropriate stakeholders to begin development of data governance standards.

ENHANCING

Exemplary practices for agencies who are expanding or growing their Data Sharing for Performance Management practices.

ORGANIZATION, WORKFORCE, AND PARTNERSHIPS:

Assigning dedicated staff within the organization responsible for performance data effort.

Maintaining the relationships established in the “Designing” phase, determining stakeholders’ performance data needs, and evaluating opportunities to expand partnerships. This could include establishing a working group or advisory committee for regular communication..

DATA AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT:

Establishing a clear process for data collection and maintenance, including common data definitions, standards, and aggregation units.

Establishing data sharing agreements when collecting and sharing data with external partners. Facilitating access to data via GIS portals or data warehouses.

Establishing processes for connecting transportation performance measures to the information provided in the data platform.

POLICY AND PROGRAM DESIGN:

Developing a policy for data governance standards.

Continuously enhancing and revising established performance data and tools and considering methods of expanding the capabilities of tools.

ADVANCING

Exemplary practices for agencies who innovating and establishing new best practices in Data Sharing for Performance Management.

ORGANIZATION, WORKFORCE, AND PARTNERSHIPS:

Maintaining a dedicated, funded team responsible for performance data collection, management, and analysis. Having a system for continuous data and performance measure monitoring and for providing immediate feedback, both internally and externally.

Conducting regular meetings with stakeholders to integrate their needs into the data process, fostering established internal and external partnerships for data collection and management.

DATA AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT:

Institutionalizing performance data management as an integral component of all transportation projects, including standardized processes for data collection, management, and sharing.

Developing the ability to display live data and performance measures in real-time, produce in-house data and performance-based reports, and share models for replication. Having the availability to automate these processes can improve efficiency.

POLICY AND PROGRAM DESIGN:

Within data management efforts, including a public-facing platform that provides real-time data, models, and performance metrics.

Institutionalizing data governance standards to ensure consistent and effective data management across the agency.

SNAPSHOTS OF PLANNING PRACTICES:
DATA SHARING | EXAMPLES

New and emerging data are expanding agencies’ ability to develop new analyses and performance metrics. States are developing innovative new ways use these new analyses to enhance planning and operational analysis as well as performance reporting. This Snapshot focuses on strategies, methods, processes, and procedures for identifying and adopting planning performance metrics and for sharing the data required to do so.

DESIGNING

UPlan is the Utah Department of Transportation’s (UDOT) centralized repository for GIS data and applications that the agency uses as a system of presentation for authoritative content. The UPlan GIS portal is publicly available online for external use. UDOT is working to establish data governance standards to create a single point of truth for all authoritative content that is publicly available.

UPlan equips UDOT and state MPOs with the tools to visualize and analyze spatial data. This platform supports MPOs in meeting necessary requirements, including those mandated by FHWA. As UDOT continues to refine its data governance policy and adapt to changing technologies, UPlan evolves to meet a high standard of professional data that can be relied upon to provide expanded analysis and performance management.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is collaborating with multiple partners on the Suncoast MobilityHub pilot project, a regional data platform. This initiative aims to create a data and analytics portal that enables state and local agencies, along with MPOs, to share data for operation and performance management. The project’s goal is to establish a common, GIS-based platform across the region with a user-friendly interface, process automation, and real-time data accessibility for public use. The platform integrates USDOT WZDx data and imports data into GIS, connecting various datasets (such as SunGuide, Device, and HERE). This information is then shared publicly through map applications (such as Apple and Google maps) and across agencies, where it is analyzed to support performance measures and improvement.

ENHANCING

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s (DVRPC) PhillyFreightFinder is a publicly available interactive freight mapping and data platform that displays regional freight data. The PhillyFreightFinder collects multiple data sources to feed into the platform: publicly available data sets, data sets developed within the agency, and one-time purchased data. Once the data is collected, it is cleaned, aggregated, and joined across datasets before it can be used in the tool for performance management and activity tracking. Since its original iteration, the tool has developed into a multi-tool platform including county freight profiles, maritime performance indicators, and links to downloadable data. The code for the original PhillyFreightFinder is publicly accessible through GitHub for use by other agencies.

In the development of the tool, DVRPC has worked in close collaboration with its freight advisory committee, the Delaware Valley Goods Movement Task Force. Through frequent conversations with the task force, DVRPC determines stakeholder needs and consults with freight advisors as the platform evolves. In the future, the DVRPC would like to further develop the platform through process automation by directly connecting the platform to the agency data portal and implementing automatic updating. Additionally, there may be an opportunity to add features, such as the option to search for an address in the tool.

In 2023, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) produced the Annual Roads and Bridges Report in coordination with MDOT’s Transportation Asset Management Council (TAMC). TAMC is responsible for advising the Michigan legislature, promoting asset management principles, providing tools for agencies, and collaborating with other councils. The council has also developed interactive maps and online performance measure TAMC Dashboards that display data for roads, bridges, and culverts conditions along with finance traffic, maintenance, and safety data. These efforts involved road and bridge data collection from over 600 different agencies in coordination with MPOs and RPOs across the state. In the dashboard, the data sets can be displayed statewide and regionally by city, village, county, and legislative districts. The data is provided in a downloadable .png format.

ADVANCING

Data-based decision making has been an integral part of the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s (MnDOT) operations fo many years. MnDOT has several internal and externally-available data tools to help inform decision-making. Internally, for example, MnDOT budgets, plans maintenance, and tracks future replacement needs of transportation assets through its Transportation Asset Management System (TAMS). MnDOT also has several publicly available tools that provide readily available information on transportation system performance, transportation system usage, and weather conditions and road disruptions. Since 2016, MnDOT has published an online performance measure dashboard that reports annual system performance under eight performance topics from MnDOT’s Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan (SMTP). Other public dashboard examples are also provided by MnDOT’s Office of Aeronautics and the Office of Civil Rights.

For internally-generated data, MnDOT has data governance initiatives and domain stewards in place to manage the controls. Additionally, MnDOT coordinates with external agency partners to source data for reporting. Going forward, MnDOT is regularly assessing areas to expand its data and performance management efforts in transportation planning.

The Eastern Transportation Coalition (TETC) developed the Transportation Data Marketplace (TDM) to match coalition members (200 public agencies along the I-95 corridor) with transportation data vendors. The effort allows members to acquire real-time travel data from prequalified vendors in six different categories, including Travel Time and Speed, Origin-Destination, Freight, Waypoint, Volume, and Conflation. Through this effort, members have access to data without the need for sensors or other hardware. The TDM also provides model data use agreements and quality control by a Coalition Technical Advisory Committee.

SNAPSHOTS OF PLANNING PRACTICES:
DATA SHARING | RESOURCES

DESIGNING

NCHRP 20-44: Target-Setting Methods and Data Management to Support Performance-Based Resource: This report presents a framework and specific guidance for target-setting and for ensuring that appropriate data are available to support performance management. The report draws on a range of private- and public-sector examples to explore issues of data management and stewardship as well as organizational factors likely to influence an agency’s performance measurement and management experience.

NCHRP 08-119: Data Integration, Sharing, and Management for Transportation Planning and Traffic Operations is an ongoing effort to develop tools, methods, and guidance for improving data sharing, integration, and management practices to enable transportation agencies, in collaboration with private sector and public-sector stakeholders, to make better planning and operations decisions. In this initial research report, researchers summarize the state of practice, key challenges, and existing products to support transportation agencies.

TCRP’s Data Sharing Guidance for Public Transit Agencies – Now and in the Future provides suggestions for how public transit agencies can make informed decisions regarding data sharing practices. It discusses new standards, analytical tools, and leveraging private-sector interest and the potential to further increase the value of data sharing for transit agencies.

The New Jersey Highlands Council’s Highlands Interactive Map allows users to explore various features of the Highlands Region using Highlands-specific as well as state-wide data sources. Users can generate custom maps and reports for general information or for use by planning, engineering, or GIS professionals. The data is regularly maintained by the Highlands Council, and raw data is available for download on the Council’s open data site.

ENHANCING

The City of Rochester’s Data Sharing Agreement Template presents standard language that can be used when drafting a formal data sharing agreement for non-public data between two city entities or a city entity and an outside party. The template addresses concerns such as frequency of data updates, method of data transfer, and points of contact.

There are many existing online open data portals. DOTs, MPOs, and the public can access and interact with transportation data from multiple sources, including MDOT’s MiDrive Map and Portal, CTDOT’s Open Data Portal, TxDOT’s Open Data Portal, and FDOT’s Open Data Hub.

U.S. DOT’s Work Zone Data Exchange (WZDx) Specification enables infrastructure owners and operators to share harmonized work zone data with third parties, thus aiming to eliminate many of the pitfalls of data sharing by defining a common language for work zone information. The data includes real-time road events such as lane closures and construction activities. More than 20 regional DOTs have an active WZDx data feed.

Additionally, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS) is a source of free probe-vehicle-based speed and travel time data that allows agencies to monitor and report work zone performance measures. Using the NPMRDS, agencies can benchmark baseline mobility conditions prior to work zone activity, quantify and analyze work zone mobility impacts during construction and post-construction, and implement mobility objectives to proactively manage work zone mobility impacts.

ADVANCING

The Southern California Association of Governments’ (SCAG) Regional Data Platform (RDP) is an initiative for collaborative data sharing and planning across jurisdictions. The RDP aims to empower local governments with tools for enhanced planning and problem-solving. The tool includes a Regional Hub data repository and SoCal Atlas, and a Local Data Exchange (LDX) system for efficient data sharing.

The Southern California Association of Governments’ (SCAG) provides training opportunities for local and regional planners to learn Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. Training dates can be found on SCAG’s “News and Events” page, and recorded training videos are posted on SCAG’s YouTube channel.

The Arizona Sun Cloud Explorer is an interactive tool that displays a variety of datasets for the Sun Corridor megaregion including safety, bridge conditions, freight flows, and travel times. The multi-layered map can generate performance metrics and score data based on customizable sets of criteria.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) utilizes Transportation Performance Management (TPM). TPM is a framework that provides agencies with the tools to evaluate the impacts of transportation projects using a data-driven approach and other metrics, supporting them through data improvements and project planning. The TPM website contains performance and target data from all 52 State DOTs for 17 national measures, including travel time burdens, safety, emissions, and reliability impacts.

USDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) is one of 13 principal federal statistical agencies. BTS provides data on commercial aviation, multimodal freight activity, transportation economics, safety, infrastructure, and other topics. All BTS research publications and datasets are available through the National Transportation Library.