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NATIONAL
NCHRP REPORT 666
COOPERATIVE
HIGHWAY
RESEARCH
PROGRAM
Target-Setting Methods
and Data Management
to Support Performance-Based
Resource Allocation
by Transportation Agencies
Volume I: Research Report
Volume II: Guide for Target-Setting
and Data Management
OCR for page R2
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2010 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*
OFFICERS
CHAIR: Michael R. Morris, Director of Transportation, North Central Texas Council of Governments, Arlington
VICE CHAIR: Neil J. Pedersen, Administrator, Maryland State Highway Administration, Baltimore
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Transportation Research Board
MEMBERS
J. Barry Barker, Executive Director, Transit Authority of River City, Louisville, KY
Allen D. Biehler, Secretary, Pennsylvania DOT, Harrisburg
Larry L. Brown, Sr., Executive Director, Mississippi DOT, Jackson
Deborah H. Butler, Executive Vice President, Planning, and CIO, Norfolk Southern Corporation, Norfolk, VA
William A.V. Clark, Professor, Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles
Eugene A. Conti, Jr., Secretary of Transportation, North Carolina DOT, Raleigh
Nicholas J. Garber, Henry L. Kinnier Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, and Director, Center for Transportation Studies, University of
Virginia, Charlottesville
Jeffrey W. Hamiel, Executive Director, Metropolitan Airports Commission, Minneapolis, MN
Paula J. Hammond, Secretary, Washington State DOT, Olympia
Edward A. (Ned) Helme, President, Center for Clean Air Policy, Washington, DC
Adib K. Kanafani, Cahill Professor of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
Susan Martinovich, Director, Nevada DOT, Carson City
Debra L. Miller, Secretary, Kansas DOT, Topeka
Sandra Rosenbloom, Professor of Planning, University of Arizona, Tucson
Tracy L. Rosser, Vice President, Corporate Traffic, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Mandeville, LA
Steven T. Scalzo, Chief Operating Officer, Marine Resources Group, Seattle, WA
Henry G. (Gerry) Schwartz, Jr., Chairman (retired), Jacobs/Sverdrup Civil, Inc., St. Louis, MO
Beverly A. Scott, General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Atlanta, GA
David Seltzer, Principal, Mercator Advisors LLC, Philadelphia, PA
Daniel Sperling, Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy; Director, Institute of Transportation Studies; and Interim
Director, Energy Efficiency Center, University of California, Davis
Kirk T. Steudle, Director, Michigan DOT, Lansing
Douglas W. Stotlar, President and CEO, Con-Way, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI
C. Michael Walton, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas, Austin
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Peter H. Appel, Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, U.S.DOT
J. Randolph Babbitt, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S.DOT
Rebecca M. Brewster, President and COO, American Transportation Research Institute, Smyrna, GA
George Bugliarello, President Emeritus and University Professor, Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Brooklyn; Foreign Secretary,
National Academy of Engineering, Washington, DC
Anne S. Ferro, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S.DOT
LeRoy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
Edward R. Hamberger, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads, Washington, DC
John C. Horsley, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC
David T. Matsuda, Deputy Administrator, Maritime Administration, U.S.DOT
Victor M. Mendez, Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S.DOT
William W. Millar, President, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC
Robert J. Papp (Adm., U.S. Coast Guard), Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC
Cynthia L. Quarterman, Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S.DOT
Peter M. Rogoff, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, U.S.DOT
David L. Strickland, Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S.DOT
Joseph C. Szabo, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S.DOT
Polly Trottenberg, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, U.S.DOT
Robert L. Van Antwerp (Lt. Gen., U.S. Army), Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC
*Membership as of July 2010.
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NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
NCHRP REPORT 666
Target-Setting Methods
and Data Management
to Support Performance-Based
Resource Allocation
by Transportation Agencies
Volume I: Research Report
Volume II: Guide for Target-Setting
and Data Management
Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
Chicago, IL
WITH
Boston Strategies International, Inc.
Boston, MA
Gordon Proctor and Associates
Dublin, OH
Michael J. Markow
Teaticket, MA
Subscriber Categories
Highways · Administration and Management · Data and Information Technology
Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
WASHINGTON, D.C.
2010
www.TRB.org
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NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY NCHRP REPORT 666
RESEARCH PROGRAM
Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective Project 08-70
approach to the solution of many problems facing highway ISSN 0077-5614
administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local ISBN 978-0-309-15500-7
interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually Library of Congress Control Number 2010935343
or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the © 2010 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly
complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These
problems are best studied through a coordinated program of COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
cooperative research.
Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining
In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials published or copyrighted material used herein.
initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this
employing modern scientific techniques. This program is supported on publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the
understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA,
a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of the
FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product,
Association and it receives the full cooperation and support of the method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for
Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of
any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission
Transportation.
from CRP.
The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies was
requested by the Association to administer the research program
because of the Board's recognized objectivity and understanding of
NOTICE
modern research practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this
purpose as it maintains an extensive committee structure from which The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative Highway
Research Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of
authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; it the Governing Board of the National Research Council.
possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal,
The members of the technical panel selected to monitor this project and to review this
state and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; its report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.
relationship to the National Research Council is an insurance of The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to
procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved
objectivity; it maintains a full-time research correlation staff of
by the Governing Board of the National Research Council.
specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of
The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the
research directly to those who are in a position to use them. researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation
The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified Research Board, the National Research Council, or the program sponsors.
by chief administrators of the highway and transportation departments The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research
and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific areas of research Council, and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not
needs to be included in the program are proposed to the National endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' names appear herein solely
because they are considered essential to the object of the report.
Research Council and the Board by the American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials. Research projects to fulfill these
needs are defined by the Board, and qualified research agencies are
selected from those that have submitted proposals. Administration and
surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National
Research Council and the Transportation Research Board.
The needs for highway research are many, and the National
Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant
contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of
mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is
intended to complement rather than to substitute for or duplicate other
highway research programs.
Published reports of the
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
are available from:
Transportation Research Board
Business Office
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
and can be ordered through the Internet at:
http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore
Printed in the United States of America
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COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 666
Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Andrew C. Lemer, Senior Program Officer
Sheila A. Moore, Program Associate
Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications
Maria Sabin Crawford, Assistant Editor
NCHRP PROJECT 08-70 PANEL
Field of Transportation Planning--Area of Forecasting
Martin E. Kidner, Wyoming DOT, Cheyenne, WY (Chair)
R. Gregg Albright, California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, Sacramento, CA
Rabinder K. Bains, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC
John W. Fuller, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Colleen A. Kissane, Connecticut DOT, Newington, CT
Patrick Morin, Washington State DOT, Olympia, WA
Jack R. Stickel, Alaska DOT and Public Facilities, Juneau, AK
Valentin G. Vulov, Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, Atlanta, GA
David Kuehn, FHWA Liaison
Rolf R. Schmitt, FHWA Liaison
Martine A. Micozzi, TRB Liaison
Thomas Palmerlee, TRB Liaison
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FOREWORD
By Andrew C. Lemer
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
NCHRP Report 666 describes methods that managers of state departments of transporta-
tion (DOTs) and other agencies can use for setting performance targets to achieve multiple
objectives and interact with multiple decision-makers and stakeholder groups, and how
data management systems within a DOT can support performance-based decision-making.
Transportation agencies at all levels of government are embracing performance measure-
ment to improve agency efficiency and accountability. Setting performance targets, a cru-
cial step in the management process, generally entails balancing among competing objec-
tives and dealing with political implications. Unless the bases for setting those targets are
sound and defensible and key decision makers and stakeholders concur, the effectiveness of
performance-based management is likely to be compromised. This report presents a frame-
work and specific guidance for target-setting and for ensuring that appropriate data are
available to support performance management. The report draws on a range of private- and
public-sector examples to explore issues of data management and stewardship as well as
organizational factors likely to influence an agency's performance measurement and man-
agement experience. Supplementing the report, NCHRP Web-Only Document 154, available
on the TRB website, presents case studies of organizations investigated in the research. The
information will be useful to senior agency managers seeking to develop and improve their
performance-management practices.
DOTs and other transportation agencies are increasingly using performance measure-
ment to guide their resource allocation decisions for operations, asset management, capital
investment, planning, and policy development. There is extensive and growing literature on
defining and applying performance measures, but little attention has been given to specific
methods for setting performance targets. Setting targets within the context of a DOT gen-
erally entails balancing among competing objectives and considering the perspectives of
multiple stakeholder groups. Unless performance targets are set with sound and defensible
bases, and with the concurrence of key decision makers and stakeholders, the effectiveness
of performance measurement as a management tool to improve agency efficiency and
accountability is almost certain to be compromised.
Previous NCHRP-sponsored research has addressed limited aspects of performance mea-
sures and target-setting, for example, for asset management or project delivery. This report
is the product of NCHRP Project 08-70, undertaken to develop a more comprehensive set
of methods for establishing performance targets to guide resource allocation decisions in all
aspects of DOT management, from planning and policy development to project implemen-
tation and operations. The research was designed to draw on a range of private- and public-
sector examples to extract lessons that would be instructive and adaptable to transportation
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agencies. Because effective performance measurement relies on good data, the research was
designed also to describe data management systems and institutional relationships that will
support DOT use of performance-based resource allocation.
The specific objectives of the research were to (1) describe a comprehensive framework
and set of methods (a) to analyze opportunities to improve the multiple-objective perfor-
mance of transportation systems within the context of broader societal goals and (b) to set
specific performance targets to guide agency policies, plans, and programs; (2) detail the fac-
tors that influence target-setting and the success of performance-based resource allocation
systems and explain how agencies may successfully design, implement, and use such sys-
tems; and (3) analyze the data and information needs, data acquisition and management
systems, and institutional relationships required to support successful PBRA systems. Case
studies of organizations that use performance-based resource allocation and other exam-
ples illustrate methods for presenting performance information to decision makers and
other stakeholders and decision-support systems that can provide this information.
A team led by Cambridge Systematics conducted this research. The work started with a
review of current private- and public-sector practices in using performance-based resource
allocation to investigate the key elements of the performance-measurement and resource-
allocation processes and the tools, data-management systems, and institutional relation-
ships needed to support these elements.
The research team next sought to describe factors likely to influence the setting of perfor-
mance targets in transportation agencies. Agency scope and organization; agencies' use of
forecasting; availability, precision, and reliability of data within the agency; agencies' expe-
rience using benefit-cost analysis and other evaluation methodology; and stakeholders' per-
ceptions and expectations were considered. Data management systems and institutional
relationships to support performance-based resource allocation were given particular atten-
tion in the project work. The research results include specific guidance in two areas: perfor-
mance target-setting as a factor affecting resource allocation and data management. Case-
study reports of organizations investigated in the research are presented as well. These
results are presented in this NCHRP report and the supplemental web-only document,
NCHRP Web-Only Document 154, available on the TRB website.
An extension of the research being developed as these publications were in preparation
will identify how risk analysis may best be used by transportation agencies in performance-
based resource allocation. The extension will provide details on specific analysis methods
and applications and on information technology tools and data sharing options to support
target-setting in performance-based resource allocation.
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CONTENTS
VOLUME 1 Research Report
V O L U M E 2 Guide for Target-Setting
and Data Management
