Risk Management at State DOTs: Building Momentum and Sustaining the Practice (2025)
Chapter: Introduction
Introduction
Background
Formal risk management is the systematic effort to control uncertainty and variability for an organization’s objectives by addressing both threats and opportunities. When an organization integrates this process into its decision-making, with risks documented and considered, it leads to better management of resources and the creation of a culture of preparedness. As noted in the request for proposals (RFP) for this project, state departments of transportation (DOTs) face new and increasing uncertainties and disruptions that highlight the need for integrating formal risk management into transportation decision-making.
Objective
The objective of NCHRP Project 08-151, “Risk Management at State DOTs: Building Momentum and Sustaining the Practice,” was to “develop content on how to [build] and sustain the use of formal risk management at state DOTs. The content [is] suitable for the AASHTO Transportation Management Hub.” Note that this content is now on the AASHTO Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Portal (https://www.erm-portal.com/tool-library/). The following text is also from the NCHRP Project 08-151 web page:
- “Value proposition: how to establish and communicate the value of risk management for decision-making across state DOTs;
- Organizational change: how to initiate organizational changes at all levels that enable and strengthen the use of formal risk management;
- Promotion: guidelines and examples on how leadership, mid-management, and others can champion risk management within the organization;
- Mindset and culture: how to develop and sustain a risk management mindset and agency culture that integrates risk management across programs and into key decision-making processes; and
- Other topics relevant for implementation as identified through the research.”
The content is based on an in-depth review and evaluation of experiences at state DOTs and other public and private sector organizations, with a particular focus on organizational traits and change management strategies needed to overcome barriers to implementing and sustaining formal risk management.
Organization of This Report
The research team accomplished this work in two phases:
- Phase I consisted of Tasks 2 through 5, where the team gathered valuable information, lessons learned, and successful practices from risk management practitioners across the globe.
- Phase II consisted of Tasks 6 through 9, where the team dove deeper into specific content and promotional materials, created content and recommendations, and then reviewed the content with state DOT practitioners to provide proof of concept.
This report is organized into the following sections corresponding to the research team’s Phase I of information gathering and Phase II of content creation:
- Project Activities: Phase I (Tasks 2 through 5)
- Project Activities: Phase II (Tasks 6 through 9)
- Key Findings
- Priorities for Future Research
