Translating Transportation Legislation into Action
On November 15th, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This landmark law includes federal policy direction and funding for climate action, zero-emissions vehicle deployment, social equity, and multi-modal transportation investment – all critical initiatives for our State. In January 2022, the…
Read MoreThe Unsung Heroes of COVID-19
I’ve been fortunate to work with the California Department of Public Health on COVID-19 related initiatives since April 2020. Going into this, as a public sector consultant with over 15 years’ experience, I thought I knew a thing or two. But working alongside doctors, epidemiologists,…
Read MoreImpact of COVID-19 on Transportation in California
Highlands Consulting has long served State transportation clients and has been closely following the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on this area. In September, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released a new transportation policy post on the “Impact of COVID-19 on State Transportation Revenues.” It…
Read MoreImproving Traffic Safety in California
Highlands Consulting has a long history of providing services to California’s transportation departments. Since joining the team I have worked on transportation projects and discovered a new passion for traffic safety. Most recently, we helped the Office of Traffic Safety develop their 2020-2023 Strategic Management…
Read MoreFI$Cal: A Non-IT Project?
The Financial Information System for California, known as FI$Cal, is setting records for state IT project expenditures. But from the perspective of departments transitioning to this new technology, it’s not an IT project in the traditional sense. For these departments, success depends upon their ability…
Read MoreSelection to Success in Three Months
Is it conceivable to automate a 100% paper-based process in less than three months, even for a complex State environmental program? The answer is yes! This week, one of our clients at the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) delivered a presentation that recounted…
Read MoreGetting from A to B
I have always been passionate about automobiles and traveling so it seems fortuitous that a lot of our recent consulting projects in 2015 and 2016 have been on these very topics. On the strategic and business planning front we recently facilitated executives at the California…
Read MoreWhat are Mid-Level Requirements – and Why Do We Need Them?
As we help our clients adapt to the State’s new Project Approval Lifecycle, we find we’re being asked to define “mid-level requirements” to support the alternatives analysis that happens early in the procurement process. For those who aren’t familiar with the Project Approval Lifecycle –…
Read MoreIT Procurement 101: The Myth of the 50/50 Procurement Evaluation
A growing trend in public sector information technology (IT) procurement is the 50/50 evaluation: assigning 50% of available points to cost and 50% to the solution. The logic is that weighing cost at 50% forces bidders to reduce their costs and assures the buyer the…
Read MoreCalTech Announces New Project Approval Lifecycle
Last week, the California Department of Technology (CalTech) celebrated the release of the new IT Project Approval Lifecycle (PAL). A result of the State Technology Approval Reform (STAR) initiative, the PAL replaces the current feasibility study report (FSR) and procurement processes with a new iterative…
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