Synthesis of State DOT Social Media Practices to Support Research, Innovation, and Implementation Across the Research Lifecycle

There is documentation among the transportation sector surrounding social media as a public relations tool for public involvement, public information, real-time service information, planning, employee recognition, and even entertainment. Research has come out with various crowdsourcing and analytic processes, for example mining Twitter data (big data) to conduct natural language processing, topic modeling and network analysis.

Social media has become a researcher’s tool (vessel of information) for data gathering and market research, and a professional opportunity for networking and technology transfer. As stewards of technology transfer and research implementation it would be fit to explore interpersonal and knowledge sharing interactions on social media, such as the “#TRBAM Social Media Interactions from Transportations Largest Conference” article in the December 2019 Issue or TR News.

Technology transfer processes, which possibly incorporate strategic social media communications plans, are applied by state DOT research programs to share innovations from applied research projects and communicate their beneficial outcomes on organizational and social environments, as well as on community quality of life.

However, social media is being underutilized at transportation agencies, therefore restricting opportunities for innovation. Due to the ever-growing body of evidence and ever-evolving nature of social media, state DOTs would benefit from a community of practice, which adds to the e-literacy for transportation agencies and professionals.

There is a research need to gather examples of how state DOTs and their adjacent research communities are applying strategic social media communications practices at every phase of the research lifecycle. This information would build DOTs and transportation professionals confidence in leveraging social media, an innovative and effective tool for research and technology transfer.

The objective of this synthesis is to document both formal and informal social media practices that State DOTs and research partners apply across the research lifecycle along with types of data collected and their uses surrounding these practices.

Social media is commonly used during the implementation phase of the research lifecycle where social media can help to communicate the value of research findings, promote key messages, and reach a public audience. In the research and problem statement development, social media can be used within the State DOTs and across possible end user markets to determine needs and preferences of end users of the research.

This research will help establish a community of practice within research programs at State DOTs on social media to improve understanding of the various opportunities social media offers across the research lifecycle.

Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to):

· Document the current state of social media practices in support of transportation research programs.

· Document the rapidly expanding series of social media methods and strategies that support each phase of the research lifecycle.

· Create a framework for cataloging and advancing use of social media.

· Document social media data analytics and successful case study applications.

· Document procedural guidance examples of how state DOTs and adjacent research communities (e.g., private sector) implement social media at various stages of the research lifecycle.

· Identify successes and challenges to individual and organizational level social media communications, including risk and cost benefit analysis.

· Identify evidence-based practices from adjacent research communities (e.g., health sector) to fill gaps in social media applications across various research lifecycle phases.

Information will be collected with mixed methods research, including: a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, a survey of other transportation research agencies and private firms, and follow-up interviews with selected agencies/companies for the development of case examples. Information gaps of how state DOTs are using social media within the research lifecycle will be identified, and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be identified.