Accountability at a glance: California is harnessing the power of the Internet to provide transparency of management on a $3 billion program of transportation improvements

Public Roads, Sept-Oct, 2007 by Richard G. Chavez, Allan Kosup, Bart Desai, Donna Huey

Because of the Internet, the Dashboard likewise simplifies the process by which an interested citizen can learn about the work of SANDAG and Caltrans, Valle says. "This is one more example of how the average person can find out information from a public agency without having to pick up the phone during regular business hours," she says. "The Dashboard extends the 'people resources' at both Caltrans and SANDAG to a 24/7 operation, allowing access to the project and corridor information at the public's convenience."

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The needs of the Independent Taxpayer Oversight Committee have been more than met by the Dashboard, according to Maryam Babaki, the committee's chairperson. The committee's responsibilities include reviewing TransNet projects quarterly to assess their performance in terms of cost control and adherence to schedules. Without the Dashboard, Babaki says, it would have been a "daunting task" for committee members--busy professionals themselves--to take the time to sit down with project staff and review the many projects. Instead, "the Dashboard has essentially put all this information at the committee's fingertips," Babaki says. "Members can logon at their own convenience and get easy-to-comprehend information with as much detail as needed, be it at the program or the project level."

Just as important, the Dashboard provides a centralized location for SANDAG and Caltrans staff and other project participants to access critical information that previously would have taken much longer to locate. People directly involved in the program through SANDAG or Caltrans can bore deeper into the data, viewing information on cashflow, schedules, market trends and related issues, and cost estimates at the level of the overall program, a corridor, or a segment. "The Dashboard has linked complex SANDAG and Caltrans construction, finance, and schedule data," Boda says.

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By simplifying and streamlining the process for gathering and displaying information, the Dashboard assists staff at all levels of the participating agencies in tracking the progress of the Early Action Program. The agencies expect to derive other benefits from the Dashboard as well. Staff productivity, for example, is expected to increase as a result of savings in time, improved communication, and superior data used to track the program.

"The Dashboard serves as an early warning allowing management to be more proactive and fix the problem at the earliest possible stage," Boda says. The information available on the system "helps early identification of variances and allows for decisions and team actions to address and correct these variances," Boda says. In this way, he notes, the Dashboard "minimizes surprises."

Like any database, the Dashboard requires proper maintenance of data to ensure its effectiveness. Given the complexity of project funding, complications can arise. Therefore, SANDAG and Caltrans staff members realize the importance of keeping the database as straightforward as possible.