A Taxonomy for Stakeholder Involvement in Public Sector Transportation Research and Technology Programs

Providing for stakeholder involvement in a research program means giving those interested in the research opportunities to help shape the program. This article develops a taxonomy for stakeholder involvement in public sector transportation research programs based on the purpose of the research, sponsorship of the research, and stages of the research management process. Four types of stakeholders are identified—sponsor, experts, users, and affected parties—and their potential roles at each stage of the research management process are discussed. The article identifies four general types of mechanisms for stakeholder involvement, from the least formal to the most formal mechanism, and provides guidelines for their use in the context of the taxonomy for stakeholder involvement.