NACTO Structured for Success Study + Guide

Sam Schwartz served as the lead consultant supporting the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) on the development of Structured for Success, a first-of-its-kind guide on how to create more effective transportation agencies. Sam Schwartz led the development of a survey of NACTO members on their organization’s structures, conducted a literature review on organizational design, and interviewed leaders of city transportation agencies to learn about organizational keys to success and barriers. Sam Schwartz then worked closely with the NACTO team to design a symposium of city transportation leaders from across the country to exchange best practices and test different theories to improve organizational effectiveness within different political contexts (e.g., strong mayor vs. strong council, large vs. medium vs. small city, centralized vs. diffuse responsibilities).

Sam Schwartz synthesized the findings from the symposium, survey, interviews, and literature review to identify organizational conditions for success—ranging from reliable, recurring funding to well-designed project hand-off processes across teams, divisions, or agencies—and guidance on how agencies can identify issues and begin making changes to better align their structure and processes with their vision and goals. The team also developed detailed case studies of cities that have updated their organizational structures to better address new priorities like equity, safety and climate action.

Services / Strategic Planning