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Regional Workshop on Performance-based Planning and Programming - Workshop Summary

4. Next Steps

Advancing performance-based planning and programming requires a collaborative and concerted effort from all groups involved in the planning process. Some of the key next steps identified by workshop participants included:

• Emphasize collaboration. Implementing performance-based planning and programming will require breaking down institutional barriers, both within a single agency and among agencies that may or may not commonly work together. This includes cooperative planning processes specifically, but also coordinating agency operations and initiatives, where appropriate.The panel for this workshop provided an excellent example of collaboration on performance measurement approaches between the state DOT, multiple MPOs, transit agencies, and a variety of other civic and business stakeholders. Collaborative approaches will both ease and enhance performance based planning.
• Tell the story. Performance-based planning and programming is founded on quality data and information, but it is also critical to “tell the story” of what is possible and what can be delivered at different funding levels. More broadly, whatever the performance results, there will be a need to explain the results in simple language, and the explanation in many cases will go beyond just funding considerations. Telling the story will require writing performance reports that speak to the public at large, and that leverage technologies and data visualization to better tell the transportation story – particularly when advocating for necessary investments.
• Link transportation in context of broader objectives. Successfully communicating the value of transportation requires making clear connections to broader societal priorities such as economic growth, quality of life, livability/sustainability, public health, and other far-reaching issues. Developing measures that help link transportation to these issues will be important. Focusing on making these connections will also help the public and decision makers understand the value of transportation investments. One participant suggested that performance measures help agencies speak to the business community and may increase collaboration and partnerships between the private and public sectors.
• Share best practices. Successful performance management will grow from agencies learning from one another. Providing a mechanism to identify, share, and expand upon existing best practices will go a long way to helping agencies implement the national approach embedded within MAP-21.