Let Your Plan do the Driving: Effective Performance Measurement

How do we know we are achieving the goals of a long term vision such as a Transportation Master Plan? The City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada has developed a governance framework that links the Transportation Master Plan with an Implementation Plan and Performance Measures with Targets. These plans are driving the direction of Transportation Services Department and this is a significant change in the organization. Performance measures and targets were developed to align with the goals of the plan. Keeping a planning document alive and having the plan drive your organization’s decision making can be a challenge. However, creating a process that links the Vision with the budget process through performance measures allows for governments to select projects that will maximize the benefits for citizens and direct the city in the direction of the long term vision. This process is more important in recent times because tight budgets require governments to make difficult spending trade offs. The governance framework developed by the City of Edmonton and implemented for the 2012 to 2014 Capital Budget is one example of a successful performance measurement framework that has had a positive influence on the organization’s decision making process.