THE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT PROCESS The primary motivation for

THE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT PROCESS Outcomes may also extend to the downstream ecology, as seen

THE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT PROCESS Regardless of the particular motivation, the performance assessment process is

MEASURES OF INFRASTRUCTURE PERFORMANCE The selection of specific measures of infrastructure performance is central

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THE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT PROCESS The primary motivation for assessing infrastructure performance lies within the context of a larger system of decision making aimed at allocating resources and taking action to pursue the public purpose of infrastructure—that is, to produce desired outcomes. For example, an immediate outcome from building a wastewater treatment facility should be cleaner water within a river where the effluent is released. Over the longer term, the outcomes may extend beyond clean water itself to include improved health of the population using or living around the water system, which in turn represents enhanced quality of life for residents in the area.

THE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT PROCESS Outcomes may also extend to the downstream ecology, as seen in increased diversity of aquatic species of plants and animals and other wildlife up the food chain. In addition, the effects of cleaner water may flow downstream to neighboring communities that may be able to use a simpler and less expensive process in providing clean, safe drinking water for their own residents. Seeking such favorable outcomes, avoiding unfavorable ones, and determining what outcomes have been achieved are the principal aims of the assessment process, but these aims should be explicit.

THE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT PROCESS Regardless of the particular motivation, the performance assessment process is a primary mechanism for the expression of community values and subsequent decision making about infrastructure development and management. It is through this process that objectives for infrastructure are defined, specific measures of performance selected, and judgments made about performance. The process must both encourage communication and facilitate resolution of the conflicts that often arise among the diverse objectives infrastructure is meant to achieve.

THE GENERIC PROCESS

MEASURES OF INFRASTRUCTURE PERFORMANCE The selection of specific measures of infrastructure performance is central to the assessment process. The committee recommends that measures be used that span the three broad dimensions of effectiveness, reliability, and cost, but there are many more detailed concerns that fall within these principal dimensions.

MEASURES OF INFRASTRUCTURE PERFORMANCE

TAKING STOCK