Enterprise Risk Management Strategies for State Departments of Transportation

The leaders of DOTs and other public agencies that build and operate capital facilities manage a multitude of human, technological, political, technical, and natural resources in an environment that is fraught with uncertainty. To ensure success, these agencies must be able to manage risks at multiple levels. Although there is a great deal of literature and research relating to project risk management for public projects, there has yet to be a study that evaluates enterprise risk management (ERM) for DOTs. The objectives of this study are to describe the state-of-practice with respect to risk management in state DOTs and to identify executive strategies that may be useful to DOT leadership for enterprise-wide risk management. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive survey with responses from 43 of the 52 United States DOTs that identify and describe the currently implemented ERM strategies. The findings from the literature and survey were validated through interviews with top DOT management from three DOTs that have advanced ERM programs. The results of the survey indicate that only 39% of DOTs have a formal ERM program and that over 40% of agencies felt that they seldom or never implement the correct risk management procedures. The results also indicate that (1) DOT executives play a critical role in an ERM program; (2) employees must be involved at all stages of ERM program development; (3) the initiation of an ERM program must receive adequate resources to be successful; and (4) developing a risk management culture requires broad participation, ERM performance evaluations, demonstrated commitment from all upper-level managers, and a long-term perspective.