Family of Plans / Minnesota DOT
Minnesota DOT (MnDOT) practices financial stewardship through a neatly aligned ‘family of plans’ that ranges from the highest level, longest term plan (Minnesota GO 50 Year Vision) to the detailed, short term, project level plans (e.g. STIP). The intentional connections between these plans allows the policy direction set in the Minnesota GO Vision to drive the system plans, capital programs, and operating plans.
The Minnesota State Highway Investment Plan (MnSHIP) is the 20 year investment plan that guides capital improvements in alignment with MnDOT’s vision and the objectives defined in the Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan (SMTP). MnSHIP allocates funding to 14 investment categories that correspond to five objective areas defined in the SMTP: System Stewardship, Transportation Safety, Critical Connections, Healthy Communities, and Other.
The funding allocation decision process involves modeling different levels of investment to reach specific outcomes for each investment category. MnDOT creates bundles of funding levels for the 14 categories to craft multiple potential investment approaches, each using the same budget and assumptions. Input from public engagement, senior leadership, and key agency staff is used to select the preferred performance outcomes and investment approach.
Following the guidance of the MnSHIP, MnDOT Districts select projects to be included in the MnDOT Capital Highway Investment Plan (CHIP), the first four years of which represent the STIP. A single project can include funding from multiple investment categories. The CHIP is updated annually and includes a comparison of planned and programmed projects with the investment priorities established in MnSHIP. If there is any deviation from the MnSHIP guide, the CHIP offers a narrative explanation. This feedback loop links planned and programmed investments to agency priorities, showing how high level policy direction drives agency decisions even at the project level.
Additional Resources:
- MNSHIP. https://minnesotago.org/final-plans/mnship-final-plan
- Minnesota GO. https://minnesotago.org/index.php?cID=531
- Minnesota SMTP. https://www.minnesotago.org/learn-about-plans/statewide-multimodal-transportation-plan
- Minnesota Family of Plans. https://minnesotago.org
- Minnesota Capital Highway Investment Plan. 2022. https://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/10yearplan/index.html
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