Transit Grant Applications Simplified by 65%, Improving Efficiency
Marcus Ritosa, Process Improvement Intern
December 2, 2013
“Would you like to take our customer survey?” A pop-up flashes across the screen as I try to get on with my business before being interrupted. “What a waste of my time,” I think as I click, “No.” As someone who designs surveys, forms, and applications from time to time, I know the purpose and reason for this survey request. Often, service providers must get some information regarding who we are, what we’re doing, and where we’re going if they are to provide the best possible customer service. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) often needs its customers to provide similar information, especially when we issue grant money. Transit Grant Applications serve a valuable purpose for both applicants and CDOT, and we want to make that process as streamlined and straightforward as possible. Recently, CDOT has taken a good, long look at our Transit Grant Applications to make improvements, so that we can accomplish the task without so much strain.
Mountain Traffic
What was improved, briefly
A Process Improvement Project Team streamlined the Transit Grant Application, resulting in a 65% slimdown in the number of questions required of grant applicants. About 35 organizations in Colorado submit 50 total applications yearly. “We’ve made it easier for both applicants and CDOT,” says Tom Mauser, CDOT’s Transit Programs Manager. Six application evaluators review these applications, resulting in a total of 159 application reviews. The overall time and effort burdens of this review process are now lessened since redundancies have been eliminated from the application.
Background
In January 2013, a Process Improvement Project Team consisting of CDOT’s Eric Ellis, David Averill, and Stacy Romero began work on downsizing Transit Grant Applications. The original goal was to reduce the number of questions by 40%. Ellis, Averill, and Romero were able to beat that goal: they eliminated and combined questions resulting in a 45% reduction. An additional 20% of the questions were eliminated by the Team due to changes resulting from the federal “MAP-21” law, totaling a 65% overall benefit. These changes benefit grant applicants since they will spend less time applying for grants. And this simplification also has a similar benefit for the people at CDOT who review these applications. The first use of these new streamlined applications is during the current grant cycle; application is due December 2, 2013.
Paired with this effort is one that seeks to launch the grant application through an online Salesforce portal. In the future, grant applicants will be able to easily enter necessary information electronically through this website. At present, the application content must be manually transferred, and any revisions to the original application also require manual translation. Additionally, a new electronic reimbursement request form for grantees is currently (December 2013) in Beta testing, and will be available soon.
CDOT’s Division of Transit and Rail Director Mark Imhoff frames this improvement in the context of performance measurement. “With better tools to analyze the operations of our transit grant applicants,” says Imhoff, “we can assess their maintenance schedules and determine an optimal multi-year plan.” A long view of the way CDOT distributes grants will better allow funds to go toward what yields the biggest impact on end performance. The bottom line according to Imhoff is that, “the new interface will offer a personal touch and is more user-friendly and streamlined. For CDOT, we’ll be more effective in using our limited resources.”