Ohio Department of Transportation peer exchange report, September 18-21, 2011.

PDFTech ReportState departments of transportationPeer groupsResearch managementProgram managementBest practicesFocus groupsLocal governmentFinancingOhioOhio. Dept. of Transportation. Research SectionOhio. Dept. of Transportation. Research SectionNTL-PLANNING AND POLICY-PLANNING AND POLICYUS Transportation CollectionUnder 23 Code of Federal Regulations 420.209 (a)(7), as a condition for approval of FHWA planning andresearch funds for research activities, a State is required to conduct peer exchanges on a periodic basis.FHWA's Office of RD&T has administratively determined this to be every 5 years. The objective of thepeer exchange program is to give State transportation agencies a means to improve the quality andeffectiveness of their research management processes. A peer exchange is a practical and effective toolto foster excellence in research, development, and technology transfer (RD&T2) program management byproviding an opportunity for panelists to share best practices and management innovations with eachother.The basic approach is to invite an outside panel of managers to meet with the host agency to discuss andreview its RD&T2 management process or a specific focus area. Information on the host agency\ue2\u20ac\u2122s policiesand procedures is shared with panel members prior to the meeting. During the peer exchange, panelmembers may meet with managers, staff, stakeholders, and customers to gain further insight into the hostagency's program. The information gathered from the exchange is documented in a written report andpresented to agency management