Building on multimodal evaluation work conducted by EBP in the Michigan 2045 Long-Range Transportation Plan, the MMEBA project is developing a multimodal web-based software system to support Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) across its business units in conducting benefit-cost, economic impact, and multi-criteria assessments. 

The project includes implementation and training related to Michigan’s five-year program assessment process using a core benefit-cost and economic impact system. It also includes custom development of aviation, transit, and active transportation evaluation tools.

As part of the project, our team is developing detailed training and documentation, as well as templates and guidance for integration of the tool into the agency’s business process. This project represents a major effort by MDOT to unify and coordinate its existing transportation economic and social benefit evaluation tools and processes within a coordinated multimodal suite of decision-support modules. The project involves not only detailed implementation of technical best practices, but intensive coordination with the agency regarding agency needs and use cases.

Beyond delivering assessment tools, a core element of this project is training of the agency on how to identify relevant input data from the agency’s internal modeling and system management systems, as well as how to integrate economic evaluation into planning processes. This project is illustrative of EBP’s work on methods for project evaluation and prioritization, which also includes Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, Connecticut, Iowa, and California.