As published in agency updates between the dates February 4 and March 17, 2022

Activity 1: Model roadmap, led by Marty Milkovits. Related to Goal 1: Sector Leadership. Objective 1a. Develop a model roadmap and modeling tools to ensure that they best meet the needs of the core long-range planning document for the MPO, the Long-Range Transportation Plan. Notes: The travel demand model with a new base year of 2023 (TDM23) is currently under development. TDM23 will be the basis of the development of the suite of tools. The next stage of advancing the suite of tools will begin as the TDM23 is being tested and validated, not likely before March of 2022.

Activity 2: External presentations, led by Annette Demchur. Related to Goal 1: Sector Leadership. Objective 1c. Incentivize and budget for staff to acquire and share knowledge, experience, and expertise externally through conference attendance, participation on peer panels, authoring publications and posts, and other similar activities. Notes: Compiled list of opportunities for staff to acquire and share knowledge, experience, and expertise externally through conference attendance, participation on peer panels, authoring publications and posts, and other similar activities. This list will be expanded as new opportunities are identified. Next steps are to determine budgets for staff time and direct expenses as part of our annual budget development process and establish an annual calendar of opportunities.

Activity 3: Fund web improvements, led by Gina Perille. Related to Goal 1: Sector Leadership. Objective 1d. As part of the committing to the institutional investment required to present and promote staff work, identify funding and staff time required for analysis of improvements to hosting, functionality, display capabilities of the agency’s online presence. This presence includes websites, interactive publications, applications, and dashboards. Notes: Conversations underway with staff currently engaged in the maintenance and updating of the website to determine technical requirements and level of investment that would be needed to design and develop a new presence and/or new functionalities. Focus is on identifying what level of budget and human effort (whether internal or outside consultants) is feasible and necessary to launch initial work in SFY23.

Activity 4: Project management working group, led by Rebecca Morgan. Related to Goal 2: Programs and Services. Objective 2a. Create agency-wide project management practices, expectations, reporting, and communication protocols to standardize engagements with clients and to increase internal accountability. Notes: The project management working group opportunity was introduced at the December 2021 all-staff meeting, and members were identified in January 2022: Sandy Johnston, Drashti Joshi, Rose McCarron, Marty Milkovits, Rebecca Morgan, and Michelle Scott. The first convening date and schedule of meetings are in development.

Activity 5: Project management practices, led by Rebecca Morgan. Related to Goal 2: Programs and Services.Objective 2b. Update and enhance standard reporting protocols to be used agency-wide to ensure consistent and timely management of projects and communication with clients. Notes: Once the project management working group is launched, per above, the first series of actions will center on a review and analysis of the project manager’s guide.

Activity 6: MPO Board orientation review, led by Annette Demchur. Related to Goal 4: Governance. Objective 4c. Create and regularly provide board orientation and training so that all board members are well-informed about the MPO and CTPS’s governance, roles, relationship to other entities, and work. Notes: Initial activities include compiling existing materials and records of MPO 101 sessions to be followed by a discussion about and collection of recommendations related to improving future iterations of MPO 101 sessions. These recommendations will be collected from agency staff and MPO board members.

Activity 7: Organizational chart, led by Tegin Teich. Related to Goal 5: Organizational Structure and Staffing. Objective 5a. Review and revise the organizational chart, office configuration, and reporting relationships to improve organizational effectiveness, reduce silos, encourage cross-group collaborations, and empower project managers to make more decisions. Notes: This includes physical configuration of space as well as evolving the agency structure. Several actions related to the organizational structure have been completed, including modifications to reporting and the creation of new positions. Conversations with MassDOT continue about potential future or reformatted space with an extension of the current rent price through June 30, 2022.

Activity 8: Collaborative tools and tech, led by Marty Milkovits. Related to Goal 5: Organizational Structure and Staffing. Objective 5a. Review and revise the organizational chart, office configuration, and reporting relationships to improve organizational effectiveness, reduce silos, encourage cross-group collaborations, and empower project managers to make more decisions. Notes: This activity is focused on identifying collaboration tools and technology investments that support a mix of in-office, hybrid, and remote work and is combined with considerations around ramping up to hybrid work, work styles, and available resources. Agencywide access and commitment to Asana as a collaborative platform was an early first step. A small, but dedicated team has produced an inventory of collaborative tools that are or could be available to the agency and now is working to produce a recommended set of draft norms for using our main collaborative tools (e.g. GChat, Email, Meet, and Asana).

Activiyy 9: Human resources audit, led by Gina Perille. Related to Goal 5: Organizational Structure and Staffing. Objective 5b. Establish, document, and implement a human resources strategy that emphasizes staff professional development, multiple paths for career growth and advancement, options to work across departments, and a system to recognize and reward staff for work well done. Notes: This task is structured in close coordination with partners at MAPC and includes joint policy reviews as is called for in one of the six leadership commitments. In addition, an initial structure for discussing human resources practices, channels, and materials – existing and envisioned – is established with the MAPC director of equity & culture and CTPS deputy executive director.

Activity 10: Staff orientation, led by Hiral Gandhi. Related to Goal 5: Organizational Structure and Staffing. Objective 5c. Create a comprehensive orientation and onboarding process that emphasizes human resource systems and services, supports regular engagement throughout the year, and provides ongoing support when transitioning internally to new positions. Notes: Underway for this task is a review of the existing structure by representatives of MAPC’s human resources department in partnership with CTPS. Future actions called for in the plan during this state fiscal year include researching and summarizing best practices and developing a charge for a task force to discuss and recommend improvements to staff onboarding and orientation in SFY23.

Activity 11: Staff evaluation, led by Hiral Gandhi. Related to Goal 5: Organizational Structure and Staffing. Objective 5e. Review, revise, and improve the staff evaluation process so that reviews improve staff accountability at all levels, incorporating two-way feedback, and supporting professional and career growth as well as improving performance when needed. Notes: This activity is underway with the goal of being able to launch a revised evaluation process this spring (Spring 2022). Current activities include researching evaluation approaches, developing a framework, and drafting the associated guidelines and procedures.

Activity 12: DEI committee, led by Tegin Teich. Related to Goal 6: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Objective 6A. Create a staff committee, with a leadership champion and budget, to embody a cross-agency DEI commitment, promote diversity in hiring, develop common language, support trainings, and build connections to MAPC to ensure human resource activities support DEI principles. Notes: Some of the action steps related to this activity have been accelerated and resequenced in order to launch committee work in SFY22 versus SFY23. These changes enable staff input into the DEI commitment, which will be shared with the MPO board. Solicitation for staff volunteers for the committee began in January of this year, and with the help of MAPC Director of Equity and Culture Angela Howard, eighteen volunteers have been invited to participate in a workshop at the end of this month. The goal of the workshop is to develop a DEI statement for the agency and an initial scope of the committee’s work in the first year. Next year, the committee will work to identify opportunities and resources for training and other activities (originally scheduled for SFY22).

Activity 13: MPO Board DEI support, led by Tegin Teich. Related to Goal 6: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Objective 6c. Support the Boston Region MPO Board to expand outreach and create more opportunities for community involvement across diverse populations, particularly those not currently represented by staff and the board. Notes: This task involves actions that will be aligned with the staff committee work noted above – specifically after a DEI statement is developed and available for sharing with the MPO Board.

Activity 14: Career fairs, led by Marty Milkovits. Related to Goal 6: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Objective 6F. Attend career fairs and university recruitment events to promote the agency’s role, work, and visibility to recruit high-quality and diverse job applicants. Notes: This activity is deferred to SFY23 with the expectation that career fairs and recruitment events will be restored and revitalized as COVID-19 public health restrictions lessen.

Activity 15: Communications leader, led by Tegin Teich. Related to Goal 7: Marketing and Public Presentation. Objective 7A. Enhance communications capacity. Notes: This activity is complete through the creation and hiring of a manager of outreach and communications for the agency. Although the strategic plan called for consideration of adding this capacity during the current fiscal year and hiring in the coming year, action was accelerated within SFY22. In doing so, a new three-person outreach and communications group was formed at the agency.

Activity 16: Communications audit, led by Gina Perille. Related to Goal 7: Marketing and Public Presentation. Objective 7B. Create and implement a clear communications plan that defines the agency and leverages its expertise to create new and to grow established relationships, especially with end users of services. The actions for this activity center on the conducting of an agency-wide external communications audit to review and assess the materials and channels the agency uses. Representative materials were assembled at the end of 2021; a series of internal and external interviews is undergoing design, led by Sean Rourke.

Activity 17: Staff accomplishments, led by Annette Demchur. Related to Goal 7: Marketing and Public Presentation. Objective 7D. Promote proactively, both internally and externally, through its online presence and other channels, the recognition of work done by agency staff members. Notes: This task involves soliciting information from staff on individual and professional accomplishments as well as completed projects that received awards or other recognition. The information gathering process is ongoing along with identification of places on the intranet and bostonmpo.org where information can be shared more broadly. Mechanisms for regular collection of new recognitions are in development.