Research Pays Off: Sharing Knowledge, Improving Decisions, and Establishing Accountability - Comparative Performance Measurement Demonstrates Benefits

This Research Pays Off explores the efforts made by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO’s) Standing Committee on Performance Management to develop projects through TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) that established comparable performance measures relevant to transportation. These measures may be employed by state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) seeking to improve accountability and identify effective practices.

The knowledge gained from this series of comparative performance measurement research projects has been invaluable and has proved a critical, foundational step as state DOTs and MPOs prepare to implement the performance measurement requirements of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. The article highlights various performance measure projects undertaken by NCHRP.

Research Pays Off is a regular series highlighted in TRB’s bimonthly magazine, TR News. TR News features timely articles on innovative and state-of-the-art research and practice in all modes of transportation. It also includes brief news items of interest to the transportation community, workshop and conference announcements, new book notices, and news of TRB activities. Submissions of manuscripts for possible publication are accepted at any time.

Copies of the TR News may be purchased individually or ordered on an annual subscription basis.