Road Management Policy : An Approach to the Evaluation of Road Agency Performance

Efficient and effective road transport is central to the economic growth and development of all African countries, this mode accounting for about eighty to ninety percent of the continent’s total trade in goods and services. For this reason countries need adequate road infrastructure management policies, strategies and institutions to manage this crucial asset in an optimal manner including systematic means of measuring the performance of the road agencies as a basis for determining those factors that aid or impede the attainment of their desired results.

In an endeavor to deepen the understanding of the factors that affect the performance of road agencies in road asset management, two evaluations of road agency performance using different approaches have been conducted in Africa during the past five years. The first approach uses the Commercialized Road Management (CRM) framework which focuses on compliance with the requirements of the four Building Blocks of the Road Management Initiative (RMI) pertaining to Responsibility, Ownership, Financing and Management previously reviewed in the SSATP Working Paper 92 (Progress on Commercialized Road Management in Africa). The second approach is the British Standards Institution’s Publicly Available Specification (PAS55:2008) which recognizes that the management of physical assets is inextricably linked to the management of other assets types, such as Human Assets, Information Assets, Intangible Assets and Financial Assets.

The present Working Paper presents and compares the outcome of the two evaluations. It provides guidance to road sector stakeholders in terms of the differing analytical approaches that may be used to quantitatively evaluate the performance of road agencies. Merging the two approaches as suggested provides the flexibility to adjust performance evaluation to the various levels of performance and capacity of road institutions that can be found in road agencies.

This working paper also strengthens the knowledge and awareness on good road management practices as a foundation for continuous advocacy on road sector reforms.