Location
Denver, CO
Client
City and County of Denver
Services
Strategic Planning
Organizational Assessments
Graphic Design
Denver Public Works/DOT Organizational Assessment
Sam Schwartz worked with the City of Denver to review existing structures and relationships in its Public Works Department (PW). With a forward-looking mobility vision that targets significant mode shift and a strong commitment to Vision Zero, Denver wanted to evaluate if it could be better served by establishing a separate, standalone Department of Transportation (DOT) to accomplish its multimodal mobility goals. Alternatively, the City wanted to consider how targeted improvements at PW—without the organizational stresses that could arise from creating a totally new agency—might similarly move the needle.
Leveraging nationwide experience in evaluating project delivery and organizational gaps in municipal agencies, Sam Schwartz developed a transparent evaluation framework to fit Denver’s needs. The team’s transportation expertise allowed it to create an environment for feedback that would have been difficult for traditional management consultants to facilitate.
Through a series of interviews with leadership and staff across and outside PW, supported by conversations with peer cities, Sam Schwartz outlined and scored different organizational scenarios. These included a reorganization of PW with two dedicated branches (one for mobility and another for traditional public works functions), and a standalone DOT housing all elements of mobility planning, design, engineering, and construction. The evaluation was accompanied by a suite of organizational recommendations for facilitating implementation of much-needed investment.
These recommendations, modeled on similar “action agenda” work that Sam Schwartz has delivered for other DOTs nationwide. form a road-map for Denver as it embarks on its ambitious vision.