CSD/CSS efforts in Utah directly addressed the issue of problem definition and the mindset to solutions. As part of its pilot state activities, UDOT’s senior management held workshops to engage staff in discussions of their approach to their work. During the course of these workshops they proposed a name change to “context sensitive solutions” (CSS) and they developed a concise set of principles with descriptions.
The proposed adoption of the term Context Sensitive Solutions for Utah is based on the following insights:
The set of recommended principles was established to be few in number so UDOT staff can more easily remember and use them. To make each principle more useable, each has an “evidenced by” and an “achieved by” box that further describes what “success looks like” in practice and how to make it happen.
The first principle, Address the Transportation Need, is the job of the department. It is why UDOT exists as an agency. The other two principles, Be an Asset to the Community and Be Compatible with the Natural and Built Environment, describe two ways that UDOT must work if it is to successfully do its job. That is, the principles describe how UDOT staff should work with users and other stakeholders as they find solutions for meeting the transportation needs.
In practical terms, rarely can all three principles be fully honored on any given project. That is, the specifics of a project often result in competition among them. The challenge for UDOT staff is to balance the demands represented by these principles in a way that represents the best overall solution. From the perspective of UDOT senior management, strengthening the department’s public outreach is necessary because effective public involvement is considered the best vehicle to identify and resolve the competing demands of these three principles.
Source: NCHRP Report 480: A Guide to Best Practices for Achieving Context Sensitive Solutions pp. 74-78
Published: 2002
