Schneider, Ingrid E.

Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and Minnesota Local Road Research Board (LRRB) supported the University of Minnesota to investigate social media options for effective public engagement. A three-part approach assessed 1) the state of social media use through a literature review; 2) the status of social media use and interest in its use for transportation in Minnesota compared to national data; and 3) actual and perceived effectiveness of social media in two pairs of case studies in Minnesota. In sum; results reveal social media is effective as a strategic and select part of engagement plans and can likely effectively engage select groups. Survey results revealed 11-21% of respondents participated in planning for transportation programs; policies or projects in the last 12 months; 72% use social media of some sort; and 36% expressed interest in using social media to get information; provide feedback or make suggestions related to transportation. Finally; social media analytics and interviews related to four case studies revealed social media does indeed lead transportation projects to make more connections with stakeholders; but the quality and effectiveness of those connections vary. Four main opportunities include: 1) integrating social media into multi-pronged; dynamic engagement approaches; 2) considering the demographic qualities of the key stakeholders to determine how social media can be most useful; 3)employing best practices for social media engagement; and 4) expanding and/ or developing research and evaluation plans to understand and assess future social media engagement efforts.

Quality of life (QOL) is a commonly used term. Defining QOL, however, is an ongoing challenge that experts often take on with minimal input from citizens. This groundbreaking research sought citizen input on what comprised QOL and what role transportation played in it. Further, this research explored in detail the important factors across the breadth of transportation and how the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) was performing on these important factors. The research encompassed three phases between 2010 and 2011: (1) an extensive literature review on QOL, (2) 24 focus groups that asked Minnesota's citizens about their QOL, and (3) a mail questionnaire about what matters in quality of life, transportation and their intersection. Eleven related quality of life factors emerged, including transportation: education, employment and finances, environment, housing, family, friends and neighbors, health, local amenities, recreation and entertainment, safety, spirituality/faith/ serenity, and transportation. Within transportation, seven important areas were identified that predicted satisfaction with MnDOT services: access, design, environmental issues, maintenance, mobility, safety and transparency. Results reveal that a) QOL is complex and transportation plays an important and consistent role in it across Minnesota; b) transportation is critical to QOL because it connects us to important destinations in aspects that matter most; and c) Minnesotans can readily identify what matters and how the state is performing within the breadth of transportation services.