Details:

Creators:
Stokes, Robert W. ; Babcock, Michael W. ; Russell, Eugene R. ; Rys, Margaret J.
Stokes, Robert W. ; Babcock, Michael W. ; Russell, Eugene R. ; Rys, Margaret J. Less -
Corporate Creators:
Kansas State University. Department of Civil Engineering
Subject/TRT Terms:
[+]
Benefit Benefit Cost Analysis Costs Implementation Organizational Effectiveness Policies And Research Project Management Research Projects Transportation
Publication/ Report Number:
KS-03-9
Resource Type:
Research Paper
Geographical Coverage:
Kansas
Edition:
Final Report; May 2000-Nov. 2003
Corporate Publisher:
Kansas. Dept. of Transportation. Bureau of Materials & Research
Abstract:
Between 1991 and 2003, the K-TRAN program has funded over 200 research projects at a total program cost of $7.3 million.

Since 1991, a total of 76 K-TRAN projects have been implemented. Estimates of monetary triennial benefits have been developed

by the research project monitors for 25 of the implemented projects. The estimated benefit/cost ratio for the total K-TRAN

program (i.e., including projects which have not been implemented) is 15.4. The benefit/cost ratio for projects that have been or

are in the process of being implemented is 37.3. The K-TRAN Program is clearly an economically viable program. The

objectives of this research project were to: 1) identify and evaluate techniques for estimating the benefits of research projects, 2)

test one or more of the techniques by preparing estimates of the benefits of selected completed Kansas Transportation Research

and New-Developments (K-TRAN) research projects, and 3) develop and document easy to use guidelines that project monitors

and principal investigators can use to develop estimates of the potential benefits of research projects. The guidelines presented in

this report represent a hybrid approach to research project assessment that incorporates elements from traditional benefit-cost and

multi-objective analysis techniques. The basic methodology requires the researcher to perform an initial subjective assessment of

project benefits using a checklist of potential benefit categories. The researcher is then guided through a process whereby he/she is

asked to attempt to quantify (i.e., assign a monetary value to) the benefits identified in the initial subjective assessment. The

process provides the researcher with guidelines for developing reasonable (i.e., justifiable) estimates of potential project benefits.

If the process leads to the development of a monetary estimate of benefits, then a traditional benefit-cost analysis of the project can

be performed. If it is determined that the project benefits cannot be expressed in purely economic terms, then the results of the

subjective multi-objective assessment are assumed to represent the best assessment possible at that point in time. The guidelines

for the multi-objective assessment technique include recommendations for rating project impacts and for identifying “successful”

projects based on a project’s overall rating. Application of the recommended guidelines in estimating the potential monetary

benefits of research projects is illustrated through an extensive set of examples using information from 14 completed K-TRAN

research projects for the period 1991-2000. Current KDOT policy requires that all K-TRAN proposals and project reports include

an Implementation Plan. This study recommends that this policy be expanded to require a project Benefit Assessment Plan as

well.


Format:
PDF
Funding:
C1222
Collection(s):
US Transportation Collection
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:b7065fc4575b286b09ec03cf0f80ad1701e911c90b9b3fe7706689bd6036630c
Download URL:
https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/16209/dot_16209_DS1.pdf
File Type:

Supporting Files

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