Abstract
Whereas transport safety research has long and
established traditions, the pivotal public task of
integrally governing, managing and overseeing transport
safety in an effective and socio-economically cost
efficient manner is yet a largely uncharted area within
science. Therefore, it should not be taken for granted
that all public resources are allocated where they add
value the most. This is due in part to historical reasons
and the inertia within how governments respond to changes
around them. This article investigates the performance
management system of a national transportation safety
agency with qualitative methods. First, it introduces the
evolution history and the surrounding institutional
architecture of the agency. Next, the goal-setting,
steering and management control mechanisms are described,
followed by a cross-check of mandated tasks and
objectives and the associated performance indicators. The
main finding is that significant gaps between stated
policy objectives, operational annual performance targets
and available indicators can be identified. Especially
with regard to societal objectives, the steering
framework turns out to provide less than comprehensive
coverage. Performance indicators for some major
objectives are missing and vice versa, some measurement
metrics do not seem to link clearly to set objectives.
Not all the set objectives need (or even could)
necessarily be measured, but certain shortcomings in the
performance control system may prove critical. The
findings imply that there is a risk of sub-optimal use of
public resources if the targets and indicators of
agencies are not thoroughly considered so that they
logically cover agencies' mandates. The implications of
the discovered gaps are outlined, together with
recommendations for a more balanced approach. The
analysis concludes with some recommended steps in order
to cover the blind spots. With the aid of these steps,
performance management systems can be improved to better
meet policy and societal objectives.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 230-239 |
Journal | Transport Policy |
Volume | 45 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- administration
- indicator
- performance management
- policy objective
- transport safety