MDOT

Turning Pilot Projects into Lasting Impact

The Problem

The Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) $8 Million Michigan Mobility Challenge grant initiative was the first of its kind in the country. Sitting at the intersection of innovation, transportation, and vulnerable populations, this Challenge offered MDOT the opportunity both to advance transportation technology and improve service for the Transit agencies and users of its services. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and MDOT’s shared interest in disseminating the findings and lessons learned broadly led them to partner and sponsor an evaluation.  

The Solution

Menlo’s High-Tech Anthropologists® were engaged to evaluate each of the 13 pilots awarded by the grant to identify successes, challenges, and lessons learned, and then to evaluate the Michigan Mobility Challenge as a whole.  This was accomplished by:

• Reviewing the pilot proposals and final documentation of each pilot
• Interviewing an average of 6 partner and state agency stakeholders per pilot for a total of 73 stakeholder perspectives
• Creating and presenting a separate evaluation report for each pilot to FTA and MDOT stakeholders
• Synthesizing data across all 13 pilots to identify themes and offer recommendations for similar future Challenges
• Authoring a final report for the FTA to be submitted to Congress

The Results

• 14 final reports and presentations, one for each pilot and one for the overall Challenge evaluation, the findings of which informed MDOT processes in running future Challenges
• An FTA report including all of the findings of the final reports, in addition to notable findings related to the subset of technologies being piloted (on-demand service and trip scheduling, autonomous technologies, and navigation), to inform future similar initiatives and funding opportunities
• Clear recommendations for administration of similar future Challenge grant initiatives at the state and federal levels
• A summary presentation given at the Michigan Public Transportation Conference, sharing findings and highlights from the FTA final report