Projects from regional organizations across the United States demonstrate how the fields of transportation and economic development can complement each other and create an environment for increased collaboration and aligning of resources. Achieving multiple goals with a single project offers significant benefits as budget concerns continue to impact regional planning.

In particular, this report examines transportation planning through the lens of economic development and the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), a regional economic development plan. In 2011, the NADO Board of Directors adopted Peer Standards of Excellence for Economic Development Administration (EDA)-designated Economic Development Districts (EDDs). These principles, developed by NADO members, are intended to make the CEDS a more effective tool, beyond a compliance plan needed to access EDA funds. The Standards of Excellence promote a strategic planning and implementation framework that is results-oriented; focused on aligning and leveraging resources; inclusive of public, private, and nonprofit sector leaders; and emphasizes the importance of asset-based regional economic development.

The seven principles of CEDS Standards of Excellence are:

1. Build resilient regions and capitalize on assets.
   Build more resilient economies and communities by focusing and targeting regional strategies on the existing and potential competitive advantages of each individual region.
2. Align plans and investments.
   Foster a regional collaborative framework to strategically align public sector investments from federal, state, and local sources, as well as private, nonprofit, and philanthropic partners.
3. Focus on data and analysis.
   Use modern scenario, data, and analysis tools and planning techniques that provide policy makers, stakeholders, and the public with evidence-based and factual based information.
4. Link strategies and outcomes.
   Transform the CEDS process into a more strategy-driven planning process focused on regional visioning, priorities setting, and performance outcomes, rather than a broad-based encyclopedia or narrative of the region with a laundry list of random projects and programs.
5. Increase collaboration among regions.
   Promote and support peer reviews and exchanges of Economic Development District planning professionals and policy officials with the goal of increasing collaboration across EDD boundaries, enhancing organizational resources, and positioning regional CEDS as more effective building blocks for statewide and local strategies.
6. Adopt a communications strategy.
   Communicate in a compelling and modern communication style, including use of executive summaries, high quality print and online media, and social media.
7. Collaborate on plans and implementation.
   Engage the public, private, nonprofit and educational sectors, along with the general public, in the development and implementation of the CEDS.

A previous NADO Research Foundation report from April 2009 examined another element of the interaction between transportation and the CEDS. Role of Transportation Planning
in the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Process presented the results of a national scan of EDDs to determine the extent to which transportation is incorporated into the CEDS. This report, Aligning Strategies to Maximize Impact provides more detail on collaboration among organizations and implementation of projects that create opportunities for linking transportation investments with economic development objectives.

Although the seven core principles of the Standards of Excellence were created with regard to the development and implementation of the CEDS, they also apply to broader regional planning processes, including transportation planning. As the case studies in this report show, investments in transportation promote numerous other goals outside of mobility, notably economic development efforts. A safe, efficient, and reliable transportation network provides essential infrastructure for a robust regional economy.

The most recent reauthorization of federal surface transportation funding reflects the increasing recognition of transportation as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), signed into law in July 2012, emphasizes performance and outcome-based transportation planning that makes progress towards seven national goals, including freight movement and economic vitality. (1) Performance goals for improving passenger mobility are also embedded in the restructuring of several national programs with increased support for multimodal investments.

This report features 10 case studies on diverse transportation and economic development topics such as freight movement, cluster development, ridesharing, and project prioritization.  RDOs in these 11 states are implementing initiatives with regional impact. Each case also includes valuable takeaway lessons that can serve as a resource to others hoping to promote a stronger link between transportation and economic development strategies. Throughout the report, the best practice themes embodied in the CEDS Standards of Excellence are identified where they appear in these case studies as applied to transportation as well as economic development.

Read the full report at http://www.nado.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/AligningStrategies.pdf.

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Proximity to markets and supply has made central New York a key location in Greek yogurt production. With 1,400 new jobs created by two yogurt makers alone, Chobani and FAGE USA have changed the economic landscape for the region and provided a new outlet for hundreds of dairy farms in the state and nearby areas.  Chobani was founded by an entrepreneur and had only five employees in 2007, but with a quick rise to prominence now employs 1,000 in central New York and consumes 4.5 million pounds of milk per day.  FAGE’s presence in rural New York, on the other hand, is the result of foreign direct investment as the Greek company decided to establish a North American presence rather than continue to export product from Greece.

Regardless of their differing origins, both firms, and others entering the field, rely on access to transportation and logistics systems to move goods, services, and people in a timely and cost-effective manner.  As the report says, “If ‘location, location, location’ is the mantra of real estate, ‘location, transportation, and logistics’ is the driving force in economic development.”

Read the report at http://www.nado.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/yogurt.pdf.

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While the RPCs were well positioned to assist because of their established relationships and networks within the towns, their recovery activities often went beyond their typical scope of work. The collaboration between VTrans and the RPCs offers lessons for disaster preparedness and recovery, both crucial elements for building more resilient communities.

This publication was developed with support from the Federal Highway Administration through the NADO Research Foundation’s Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development.

• Read the report here. (PDF)
• View the form the RPCs developed (PDF) to assess damage to infrastructure.
• This report was also the subject of a recent NADO Research Foundation webinar.  Listen to the webinar recording or view the slides here.

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This report was produced through the NADO Research Foundation’s Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development under a cooperative agreement with the Federal Highway Administration.  View the report at www.nado.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/panama.pdf.

Other reports related to transportation released by the NADO Research Foundation in recent months include:

• Transportation Project Prioritization and Performance-based Planning Efforts in Rural and Small Metropolitan Regions
• Inland Ports: Linking Freight and Regional Economic Development
• CONNECTING THE D•O•T•S, A Guide for Connecting with Your Department of Transportation
• Regional Approaches to Sustainable Development
• Exploring the Role of Regional Transportation Projects as Rural Economy Drivers (on regional transit)

For more resources on rural transportation, visit NADO’s online clearinghouse at www.RuralTransportation.org.  To view other NADO reports, including recent releases on economic development, visit www.NADO.org.

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This work is supported by the Federal Highway Administration under contract number DTFH61-10-00033. Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of FHWA or the NADO Research Foundation.

View the entire report here (PDF) in a downloadable or printable format, or use the links below to read specific sections.

Table of Contents

Report Introduction

RPO Characteristics

Rural Transportation Leadership

Planning Tools and Techniques

Regional Transportation Planning Activities

Regional Long-range Transportation Plans

• Spotlight: Virginia’s Statewide and Rural Long-range Plans
• Spotlight: Kentucky’s Regional Concept Plans

Statewide and Regional Transportation Improvement Programs

Case Study: North Carolina Develops Statewide Performance-based Prioritization Process

Case Study: North Central Pennsylvania’s Project Prioritization Process

Case Study: Flexible Process Enables Yakima Valley Region to Quickly Respond to Changing Priorities

Conclusions

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Cole uses his personal experiences from the state DOT and regional economic development worlds to tell a story and to share several important life lessons and takeaways.  As Cole quotes from a Maine DOT engineer, “all it takes is ‘one angry man with a laptop’ to significantly impede forward progress.”  We hope this new special report will help policy makers, practitioners and other stakeholders think differently about the challenges and opportunities ahead for the nation and our local communities.

View the report at http://www.nado.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Cole_ConnectDOTs.pdf.

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Released April 2007, 4 pages

Click here to view Transit and Air Quality Make a Connection” (PDF).

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Released July 2007, 6 pages

Click here to view Ethanol Production Impacts Transportation System (PDF).

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Released September 2007, 12 pages

Click here to view Southeast Tennessee Transportation: Positioning the Chattanooga Region in the Global Economy (PDF).

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