组织比以往任何时候都需要最好的想法，因为他们设想，设计，工程和建立美国运输基础设施。项目资金更紧密，客户期望更高，技术正在挑战每个人以不断变化的速度适应。这就是为什么创新已成为主要城镇和小城镇的行业的口头禅。
如果领导者不邀请有新鲜观点的人邀请创新，则很难实现创新。如果一个团队在很大程度上是静态的，那么多年来很少有新成员，那么有风险，它将在新的挑战中应用旧的范式。这就是为什么我以及其他许多人都认为追求创新和多样性是同样努力的一部分。
Diversity—in gender, race and culture, as well as thought, experience and age—is an often-untapped resource that can drive us toward the next generation of solutions.
如您所知，运输行业在消除妇女和少数民族成功的障碍方面取得了进展。我感谢所有具有前瞻性的政府计划以及不懈努力为该行业中的每个人创造更多机会的人们。显然，我们正在做很多正确的事情。
What’s unfortunate is that the advancement of diversity in transportation has traditionally been positioned as an obligation—a requirement—rather than as the competitive advantage it truly is.
围绕多样性的语言倾向于专注于“阐明运动环境”，“照顾”或“掌握”背景不同的人。
同时，长期以来，与少数族裔企业互动的行为一直关注如何满足法规，计算合同工作的理想百分比并检查正确的框。这是一种数字方法，而不是一种创新方法，并且未能认识到组建一个充满活力，多样化的项目团队的非凡优势。
我认为是时候重新构架有关多样性的对话了，以便将其视为义务，而是将其视为竞争优势。换句话说，是时候重新构架“这是我必须做的事情才能赢得合同”，更像是“这就是我可以区分我的公司并为客户提供最好的解决方案的方式。”
当我们开始欢迎各种各样的人和想法来到餐桌上时，它可以产生突破性的想法，以改善项目结果，吸引社区利益相关者并为将来的合作奠定基础。
Here are a few examples of this philosophy in action.
Detroit’s I-94 Modernization Project
Small business consultants in Detroit, many of them minority-owned, are playing a more important role in the $3-billion I-94 Modernization Project, thanks to the Michigan Dept. of Transportation and a novel small business development program.
Through the program, small business owners learn how to win, contract and deliver meaningful design and construction oversight work for MDOT. The program provides just-in-time training, mentorship and facilitated workshops on essential management skills.
Meanwhile, program participants draw on their local knowledge to refine the design and help oversee construction while working at a co-located office in Detroit. The program has received positive feedback on the overall training and workshops, as well as its advancement of diversity and inclusion, both through the market entry of small businesses and connections with more established businesses that have previously worked with MDOT.
在弗吉尼亚州的收费救济
许多州正在应对如何使财务手段有限的人更负担得起的通行费的挑战。弗吉尼亚州的运输部必须为伊丽莎白河隧道创建通行策略时必须解决此问题，伊丽莎白河隧道被诺福克和朴茨茅斯的居民广泛使用。
Rather than create a plan and then seek buy-in, VDOT created an unprecedented team of stakeholders—political leaders, community leaders, business owners, local users, commuters, military representatives, technical experts and others. Working together, they built a framework for providing discounts to tollpayers based on an individual’s financial need. They also reached out to local users to help them apply for discounts and acquire transponders.
Washington, D.C.’s 11th Street Bridge Replacement
当地区运输部计划取代第11街桥梁时，它有机会通过更广泛的镜头重新想象该项目，而不是简单地改善Anacostia河上的交通流量。
The agency brought a highly diverse group of stakeholders to the table by creating a community outreach and communication group (11th Street Community Communication Committee). Unlike groups that focus primarily on public outreach and education, this one also targeted design features that would improve the community, one in which many residents are financially disadvantaged.
This outreach helped create the city’s first elevated public park, which will be located on the piers of the old bridge and provide new spaces for recreation, environmental education and the arts.
These are just a few examples of the work that’s taking place across the country as public and private sectors collaborate to make transportation infrastructure deliver increased value to communities.
