Step 3: Select Options & Create Implementation Plan

3.3 Identify Implementation Liaison

3.3.1 Identify the appropriate skills needed for a liaison

Each project will require a unique set of skills to optimize the success of the project. These skills include relationship skills, knowledge of the technical aspects of the crossing structures, and awareness and willingness to locate and contact appropriate specialists (such as biologists or engineers) when issues arise.

A liaison selected from the ranks of one of the stakeholder agencies is particularly effective because she or he is familiar with at least one agency's internal processes. Because transportation agencies, natural resource agencies, and regulatory agencies differ greatly in mission, funding level, planning process, and workforce skills, a liaison can bridge gaps based on misunderstandings resulting from those issues.

3.3.2 Identify the funding source and terms of agreement

Implementation liaisons primarily serve for the period of the implementation phase of a project, which varies with the complexity of the project. Stakeholder agencies can document their expectations of the funding source and temporal extent of the liaison position within the implementation plan or other memorandum of agreement.

Liaison positions between natural resource or regulatory agencies and transportation departments also occur for consultation and programmatic functions. In several states, US Fish and Wildlife Service biologists are dedicated to transportation projects and paid through transportation agencies for the streamlining of project planning.