Impacts of Performance Management on Transport Planning Organizations

How can public-sector organizations that are dependent on public funding–-but expected to perform more like the best-performing private-sector organizations–-adapt, modify, and adjust to meet the demands of key stakeholders and thereby maintain and increase levels of funding? This paper reviews the experience of local government in England, where just such a transformation has been brought forward in the past decade. Since 2001, local transport authorities have been required to develop a 5-year transport strategy with a series of key performance indicators and to set targets to be achieved. Over the past 5 years the levels of funding awarded to these authorities have varied according to factors including the quality of the plan, the robustness of the analysis underpinning projections, the delivery of planned schemes, and the achievement of the targets set. The paper presents the findings of two research projects conducted from 2003 to 2008 in collaboration with 20 local transport authorities. It describes the nature of the planning system that has brought about the organizational change. It then provides, on the basis of the research, a series of advantages and disadvantages that the new system has generated before presenting some solutions that have been developed to reduce the downsides. Some conclusions about the role of performance management and rewards and organizational targets are drawn for both the managing and participating agencies.