One-day workshop focusing on “lessons learned” from three NHDOT project case studies, presentations on public involvement and consensus-building techniques, and interactive group exercises. Also conducted a half-day session to explore the nature of communication gaps identified through an internal departmental survey.
In March 2005, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) officially kicked off their CSS implementation effort, which has involved: extensive training for NHDOT staff, and regional planning and local agencies; establishing a formal CSS process and a staff committee to work on CSS implementation; developing a website with CSS resources for staff; and initiating several pilot projects implementing the CSS process. When the consultant team began discussions with NHDOT staff in September 2008, they had already experienced a range of successes and challenges with the CSS pilot projects, many of which were still underway. NHDOT staff were particularly interested in taking an in-depth look at these pilot projects to discuss which strategies and processes had worked well (and which had not) in order to build upon those lessons learned for upcoming projects. Identifying effective public involvement strategies and adapting the CSS process to projects of different scales were also of particular interest to staff. Another area of concern to NHDOT related to CSS was communication skills, particularly within the department. An internal survey of NHDOT staff identified communications as the lowest-rated category in effectiveness. Although CSS is most often applied to external communications such as those with stakeholders, the principles can also be applied to internal communications between bureaus, between districts, and among different levels of staff. The Technical Assistance developed by the consultant team consisted of two parts:
