Performance Programming: Guiding Resource Allocation to Achieve Policy Objectives

The Montana Department of Transportation’s (MDT) performance programming process (P³) is defined as “a method to develop an optimal investment plan and measure progress in moving toward strategic transportation system goals.” Transportation goals are based on the policy directions defined in the statewide long–range transportation plan. The distribution of funding is established through a series of trade-off analyses based on analyzing how the program can best meet overall performance goals. P³ allows system performance to be tracked over time and for various policy options to be systematically analyzed. In addition, P³ commits projects to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, whose contribution to system performance was estimated through an analytical process. A case study of the MDT process is provided. The Montana context that led to the development of P³ and the key steps of P³ are described, and the impact of the process on MDT decision making is explained. A discussion of implementation issues and next steps in MDT’s incremental implementation of this process is provided.