Challenges and Opportunities for Innovation in the Public Works ...

esearch report should be required to have a well-thought out tech
transfer plan, a plan that may not be developed by, or even
involve, the researcher. A key focus here, and indeed throughout
the R&D effort, is marketing. The other day I heard what I think
is an innovative way of viewing marketing. Marketing was defined
as the "engineering of the customer's mind." I believe it is
something we have to become much better at, if public works
infrastructure is to improve and truly be an asset, rather than a
liability, for the nation. Our problem is greatly magnified by the
fact that public works infrastructure involves not one customer,
but as already noted, as diverse a group of decision makers and
users as one is likely to encounter anywhere.
It also seems true that execution requires a continuous
iterative approach, an approach that defines objectives,
establishes the existing technical/non-technical baseline,
determines the scope of the required research, performs the
research, demonstrates the results, accomplishes the appropriate
tech transfer, and then repeats the process, this time seeking to
attain revised, more challenging objectives. In other words, a
process somewhat similar to the progressively higher performance
objectives in total quality management.
CONCLUSION
The philosopher Spinoza noted some several hundred years ago,
that, "true excellence is as difficult as it is rare." If we are
to achieve excellence in our public works infrastructure, we must
create a compelling vision that allows accurate problem definition,
build a strategic program on attainable goals, and execute in an
iterative fashion that focuses on both the currently attainable,
while not losing sight of the desirable, but continually evolving,
end state. This may be a combination that spells success!
Res\CERL.PPR
121