1. Vladimir Livshits Maricopa Association of Governments May, 2009
Technical Innovations in the Regional Planning Processes: SWOT Analysis from a Practitioner's Perspective
Vladimir Livshits
Maricopa Association of Governments
May, 2009

2. What is SWOT? Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
Internal Strength that facilitates planning goals
Internal Weakness that impedes planning goals
External Opportunity that facilitates planning goals
External Threat that impedes planning goals

3. What is the purpose of this presentation?
Take a systemic look at the innovations in terms of their interplay and overall effect on the common practice in planning processes.
Generate a discussion leading to better allocation of resources and cooperation in implementing most appealing innovations
Offer some ideas for innovations evaluation and planning

4. What is a technical innovation in transportation planning?
We will talk about new technical tools in transportation planning (new model, new program, new interface, new hardware, etc.)
We will not talk about new planning ideas (new facility type, new land use policy, etc.)
GPS data collection
Reliability Analysis
Multiyear Master Transportation Networks
Geo Databases
Photo visualization
Geo Analysis
Activity-based Travel Forecasting Models
Mobile GIS
Modeling of Dynamic Traffic Phenomena
3d rendering
Smart board interactive overlay
Cellular data collection
Uncertainty Analysis

5. Main Causality of Technical Innovations in Regional Planning
Planning Needs (necessary but not sufficient)
New Planning Processes
Political stratum
New Planning Tools
Evaluation stratum
Discussion framework
Modeling stratum
Technological Advancements (sufficient, but not necessary)
Data stratum

6. Climate Change and Environmental Protection Needs
Sustainability Needs
Needs to account for Economic Volatility and for Plan Sensitivity
Needs to Account for Uncertainty
Needs to Evaluate New Travel Modes and Transportation Technologies
Needs to Evaluate New Policies and Regulations
Needs to Reflect New Travel Behavior
Are emerging planning needs threats or opportunities in achieving planning goals/regional visions?
Example analysis of planning needs in relation to planning goals

7. Can Technological Advances help to address new challenges /threats in achieving planning goals?
Dramatic Increase in Computing Power: multiple processors, distributed computing, cloud computing
Dramatic Decrease in Computational and Storage Costs
New Web Technologies
New GIS technologies
New GPS technologies
New Technological Expectations
Lack of New Technological Expertise
Competitiveness on the HR market
Example technological opportunities and implications.

8. Future Staff Requirements and Availability of Technical Expertise
Life Cycle of existing technologies, maintenance and support cost and availability
Stakeholders and general public expectations
Applicability to foreseeable tasks
Efficiency in execution of typical technical tasks
What are weaknesses and strengths of proposed innovations in terms of advancing regional planning agenda?
Resulting implications of developing new planning tools

9. Department of Economic Security MPO Planning Process
Environmental Protection Agency
Federal Guidelines and Requirements
MPO Planning Process
Statewide Planning
Interstate Corridor Planning
Federal Guidelines and Requirements
MPO Planning Process
Community Participation
Freight Planning
Federal Guidelines and Requirements
MPO Planning Process
Federal Guidelines and Requirements
MPO Planning Process
Environmental Justice
Department of Environmental Quality
Federal Guidelines and Requirements
MPO Planning Process
Socio-Economic Forecasting
Environmental Planning
FHWA Guidelines and Requirements
Multi-jurisdictional Coordination
Multimodal
Planning
Land Use Planning
FTA Guidelines and Requirements
Multi-jurisdictional Coordination
Multimodal
Planning
Land Use Planning
FTA Guidelines and Requirements
MPO Planning Process
Economic Vitality
Sustainable Development
Federal Guidelines and Requirements
MPO Planning Process
Congestion Management Process
Public-Private partnerships
Federal Guidelines and Requirements
MPO Planning Process
Safety
Financial Planning
Federal Guidelines and Requirements
MPO Planning Process
Federal Guidelines and Requirements
Complexity of the planning process – makes analysis and decisions difficult – need to establish some structure to facilitate innovation decisions

10. Regional Planning Business Process
Real planning business process: numerous data types/sources, agents/departments/agencies

11. Technical Innovations Strata in the Regional Planning Process
Data
Evaluation
Models
Decisions
Core technical process strata:
Observed data for analysis and modeling
Models for predictions, explanations and descriptions
Project evaluations and programming/planning
Strata for innovations selection and analysis – reflects technical information flows

12. Data Stratum: Innovative Planning Tools
Web-based GUI data access
Visualization: GIS, Google
Data Integration (different types of data, historic data, jurisdictional data)
Enterprise Application Integration (e.g. integration with modeling applications - automated model validation tools, with data collection applications - QA/QC, automated data upload)
Built-in data analysis tools
Example evaluation of innovations on the data stratum

13. Why it was important and urgent

14. Data Collection and Management Innovation Decision Matrix
Threats
Opportunities
Strengths
Urgent
Not Important
e.g. innovative capitalization on another ongoing project where the need can be addressed with traditional tools as well
Not Urgent
e.g. opportunity to improve data disposal
Weaknesses
Important
e.g. innovative approach to address unmet data needs from a major project or stakeholder
Best Time to introduce innovations
data collection
data acquisition
data analysis
data storage
data security
data retrieval
data access and dissemination
data archiving
data disposal
Arrows indicate results of example project level decisions on data management innovations
Key slide on innovations evaluation approach. Internal weakness in combination with external opportunity lead to best time for innovation introduction.

15. Modeling Stratum: Strengths and Weaknesses
Modeling assumptions are inadequate for future planning needs but are in-line with existing planning processes
Models are not integrated with each other and other parts of the planning process
Data
Evaluation
Models
Decisions

16. Innovations in Transportation Modeling = Relaxed Modeling Assumptions + Capitalization on Computing Technology
Uncertainty & Sensitivity
Four Step Trip Based Paradigm
Activity / Tour Based Paradigm
Long Term Choices:
Residence Location
Work Location
School Location
Car Ownership TG
Purpose/
User Class
Prism
Activity/
Person/
Household
Prism
Assumptions TD
Assumptions
Assumptions MS
Assumptions
Short Term Choices:
Activity Choice
Time of Day Choice
Mode Choice
Route Choice TA
Assumptions
Assumptions

17. Example innovations/trends in modeling field related to modeling software. Can be evaluated in SWOT/Urgent/Important framework for vendors/innovation choice.

18. Transportation Modeling Innovation Decision Matrix
Paradigm Shift and disaggregation – Data Mining and Knowledge Management - Database Approach, ABM
Enterprise Application Integration and Automation - PMDS, Geo Database, Master Network
Data Accessibility and Visualization - Web-based GIS technologies, 3D
Arrows indicate results of example project level decisions on data management innovations
Threats
Opportunities
Strengths
Urgent
Not Important
e.g. innovative capitalization on another ongoing project where the need can be addressed with traditional tools as well
Not Urgent
e.g. an improvement in the traditional four step based procedure that is not crucial for model applications or future development
Weaknesses
Important
e.g. innovative approach to address unmet data needs from a major project or stakeholder
Best Time to introduce innovations
Key slide on innovations evaluation approach. Internal weakness in combination with external opportunity lead to best time for innovation introduction.

19. Evaluation Stratum: Strengths and Weaknesses
Disconnect between evaluation, data analysis and modeling, necessity for complex manual effort
Insufficient accessibility of project data, ability to easily visualize and query project information
Robust manual procedures and established guidelines
Data
Evaluation
Models
Decisions

20. Evaluation Stratum and Process Integration Innovations
New dimensions introduced by both political and technical nature of the process
Process Integration Issues with other strata
Visualization and Accessibility-web based
Outsourcing and Cooperation – vendors
Evaluation stratum – goes beyond technical domain

22. Conclusions and Recommendations
Agency level systemic analysis is crucial for technical innovations’ introduction
Innovations should be planned and considered in the overall planning business process and not in isolation
Introduction of technical innovations affect different strata of the planning process. It should and can capitalize on the synergy of cooperative efforts between departments and agencies and efficient outsourcing to third party vendors