Local Public Agencies Training and Technical Assistance Needs Assessment

This collection of information is voluntary, and will be used to better assess the training and technical assistance needs of local transportation agencies. Public reporting burden is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Please note that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 2125-XXXX. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: Michael Howell Information Collection Clearance Officer, Federal Highway Administration, michael.howell@dot.gov, 202 366-5707, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590.

General Information and Background

We would like to ask you a few questions about a) the agency you work for and b) your role within the organization.

1. Name of Organization: ____________________

2. State: ______________________

3. What is your position title? _________________________

4. How many years have you worked at your current agency? _____ years

5. How many years have you served in your current position? _____years

6. Which of the following best describes your highest educational level?

1. No high school diploma

2. High school graduate

3. College degree

4. Vocational-technical degree

5. Other: ______________________

AGENCY BACKGROUND

7. What best describes your local agency?

1. Town, Borough or Village (pop. up to 2500)

2. County or Parish

3. City, Town, or Borough (pop. of at least 2500 to 50,000)

4. City or Town (pop. of at least 50,000 – 200,000)

5. City (pop. of at least 200,000 – 1,000,000)

6. City (pop. Greater than 1,000,000)

7. Other (Please identify) ________________

8. How many centerline miles is your agency responsible for maintaining?

9. What is the size of your annual departmental budget for your highway/street program?

1. Less than $100,000

2. $100,000 - $250,000

3. $250, 000- $500,000

4. $500,000 to $1,000,000

5. $1,000,000 to 10,000,000

6. $10,000,000 to 100,000,000

7. Over $100,000,000

10. About how many full-time employees work in your highway/street department? ________________

11. Do you use outsourced staff (e.g. consultants, engineering firms) to manage and deliver your highway/street maintenance and construction program?

1. No (all functions carried out by agency staff)

2. Infrequently (less than 25% of program carried out by outsourced staff)

3. Sometimes (25% to 50% of program carried out by outsourced staff)

4. Frequently (more than half of program carried out by outsourced staff)

5. Full time (all functions carried out by outsourced staff)

12. In thinking about the next 3-5 years, what percentage of your highway/street workforce will be eligible to retire?

a) 0-5%

b) 6-20%

c) 21-50%

d) More than 50%

13. Of your highway/street workforce positions eligible to retire, what percentage do you plan to NOT replace?

a) 0-5%

b) 6-20%

c) 21-50%

d) More than 50%

14. In the last 3-5 years, what percentage of your highway/street workforce was replaced due to turnover?

a) 0-5%

b) 6-20%

c) 21-50%

d) More than 50%

WORKER KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

15. In which highway/street workforce areas are you finding it difficult to fill positions?

1. Unskilled labor

2. Skilled trades (heavy equipment operator, mason, laborer, etc.)

b) Engineering/Data Analysis

c) Leadership/Management

d) Other _________________

g) We do not have recruitment and/or skills shortage issues

16. What are the top 3 technical competencies individuals currently need to deliver your highway/street program?  (Competency is defined as a measurable pattern of knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors and other characteristics that an individual needs to perform work roles or occupational function successfully)

1. Financial Management

2. Project Management

3. Engineering Design

4. Consultant and Construction Contract Administration

5. Construction and Inspection

6. ITS/Operations

7. Environmental Compliance

8. Estimating and Scheduling

9. Planning

10. Asset Management

11. Structures

12. Safety

13. Realty/Right of Way

14. Maintenance

17. What does your agency use to develop or acquire new skills within your highway/street workforce? (max of 3)

1. Internal staff training and knowledge sharing

2. Mentoring / coaching / job shadowing/ on the job training

3. Individual self-directed learning (describes a process by which individuals take the initiative, with or without the assistance of others, in their learning needs)

4. Hire new staff with the needed skills

5. Hire a consultant or contractor to perform the work

6. Instructor-led classroom training

7. On-line training

8. Other ___________________

18. Which of the following challenges (if any) is your organization facing in developing technical skills? (max of 3)

a) Lack of leadership / management commitment

b) Language barriers

c) Inconsistent practices among employees and/or departments

d) Travel restrictions

e) Budget constraints

f) Difficulty in placing the right person in the right job

g) Lack of leaders' time to dedicate to development

h) Other

TRAINING

19. What are your three (3) most pressing training needs?

1. __________________

2. __________________

3. __________________

20. How are you currently meeting those needs? _______________________________

21. Looking forward, what are three (3) future (3-5 years) training needs for your highway/street program?

1. __________________

2. __________________

3. ___________________

22. If you have NOT attended training in the past two years, please tell us why? (Check all that apply)

1. My work schedule does not permit/too busy

2. I did not know what training was available

3. I don’t need any training

4. The training I need is not available

5. My supervisor will not allow me to attend training

6. We do not have enough staff to allow absences to attend training

7. Overnight travel required for training

8. Lack of money to pay for training

9. We provide training in-house via on-the-job or coaching

10. Other (please specify) _______________

23. Do you have access to adequate internet speed for on-line training (webinars, on-demand classes, etc.)?

1. Yes

2. No

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (Technical assistance is the process of providing targeted technical support to an organization with a developmental need or problem. It is commonly referred to as consulting or coaching.)

24. What do you see as your three (3) most important technical assistance needs?

1. ___________________

2. ___________________

3. ___________________

25. What top three resources do you use as your primary technical assistance providers?

1. Peer Agencies

2. APWA, NACE, AASHTO, local or statewide associations

3. State DOT

4. Local Technical Assistance Program

5. Universities and colleges

6. Consultants

7. Contractors or vendors

8. FHWA

9. Other (please specify)

26. Would you be interested in participating in an agency to agency peer mentoring program?

1. Yes

2. No

INNOVATION (New ideas, devices, or methods transformed into widely adopted solutions valued above existing alternatives.)

27. How does your agency approach innovation in your highway/street program?

1. Our entire focus is on getting what we do, done. We rarely innovate.

2. We focus on small incremental improvements.

3. If we can clearly show time and cost savings, we innovate.

4. Don’t know/not sure

28. How well do the following apply to your agency?

	Not at All	Partly	Fully	Don’t Know/Not Applicable
Managers support trial-and-error testing of new ideas
Managers take an active role in implementing innovation
Staff are encouraged to think of new ideas and take an active part in the development
The innovation is evaluated after completion

29. How important are the following information sources for the identification and inclusion of innovation in your highway/street program?

	Not Used	Low Importance	Medium Importance	High Importance	Don’t Know/Not Applicable
Ideas from agency management
Ideas from staff
Ideas from people who do the same job I do in other agencies (peers)
Examples of best practice by another agency
Professional organizations (AASHTO, APWA, NACE, ASCE, etc.)
Visits to conferences
LTAP
FHWA
Consultants/Contractors/Suppliers

30. What factors have prevented or delayed your efforts to introduce new innovation in your highway/street program?

	No Impact	Low Impact	Medium Impact	High Impact	Don’t Know/Not Applicable
Lack of management support
Regulatory requirements / State DOT acceptance
Staff resistance
Uncertain acceptance by public
Lack of sufficient human or financial resources
Lack of training or technical assistance
Risk adverse culture in your organization

31. Can you name a recent transportation innovation you would recommend to other local agencies that they acquire the necessary skills to implement? ___________________________________

SUMMARY

32. How familiar are you with the Local Technical Assistance Program center’s organization, programs, and services?

1. Very familiar, we use their services frequently

2. Familiar, have used their services a few times in the past

3. Somewhat familiar, have heard of them

4. No experience with them

33. Have you received an on-site visit from your LTAP center in the past two years?

1. Yes

2. No

34. What is the one product, service, or activity your organization would most like to see developed or improved in the coming year?

35. What information or advice would you give FHWA as they make decisions on the priorities and goals for the LTAP nationally?

36. Thank you for participating in our survey, your input is very important to us. If you have any additional comments or suggestions, please share them below.