The purpose of this study was to identify factors, both governmental and universal, that indicate the degree of readiness and/or potential for success of a government collaborative project in the field of regional rapid mass transportation. The study is important because collaboration has been recognized as a tool that can help address such challenges as demonstrating the responsible use of limited resources, anticipating converging technologies, and reacting to rapidly changing technologies. There was very limited availability of tools to assist in ensuring successful collaborations. Although tools have been developed that gauge the degree of collaborative readiness of a project, such tools do not address the specific needs of a regional transportation project.
A Modified Delphi approach was used to address the research questions, and included a panel of experts with extensive experience in the field of the research phenomenon. The research questions addressed the identification of the factors that impact successful collaborations for governmental entities and whether or not these factors could be incorporated into a model that when used would increase the likelihood of success of a regional mass transportation project.
This research yielded a list of factors that enhance the chances of success of such projects and proposes a model designed to guide the leaders of potential regional transportation projects.
The suggestions for those planning a regional transportation project include: (1) when creating regional transit authorities, consider the factors identified in this study, (2) use the factors to track the progress of the collaborative project during the preliminary work phase, and (3) institute a policy for the creation of a regional advisory board consisting of local representation, and (4) use the factors identified by this study to guide the policy development phase as supportive of a Regional Transit Authority.
Future researchers using a Delphi approach should consider working with a membership-oriented organization specific to their research study rather than people with specific job titles
