TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 141: A Methodology for Performance Measurement and Peer Comparison in the Public Transportation Industry explores the use of performance measurement and benchmarking as tools to help identify the strengths and weaknesses of a transit organization, set goals or performance targets, and identify best practices to improve performance.
The 'managing for results' movement that began in the early 1990s has now reached adolescence and is creating new challenges for government managers. After spending years creating planning and performance-measuring systems, managers and policy makers now need to focus on how to use performance information to make data-driven decisions. Managing Results for 2005 describes--through a series of case studies--the progress being made in federal, state, and local governments in managing for results. Part I increases our understanding about the potential use of performance information in government. It starts with a chapter on how government leaders can overcome obstacles to using performance information. Another chapter presents a comprehensive framework for tying performance to the budget process. The book provides specific examples of how performance information has been used to dramatically improve program outcomes. Part II presents case studies on the use of performance information to improve results in a range of federal agencies, in Texas state government, and in the City of Baltimore. As pioneering efforts, these examples do not all present success stories; nevertheless, the lessons learned will be instructive to public managers as the 'managing for results' movement advances toward maturity.
This synthesis report will be of interest to state, local, and federal agency environmental and maintenance administrators, directors, supervisors, engineers, and scientists. It describes current best management practices (BMPs) for environmental issues related to road and street maintenance. The synthesis documents relevant background and recent information with regard to management practices that can help protect, preserve, or enhance the environment while at the same time allow road maintenance organizations to carry out their fundamental mission of maintenance and repair in a cost-effective manner. Information for the synthesis was collected by surveying U.S. and Canadian state and local transportation agencies and by conducting a literature search using domestic sources. This report of the Transportation Research Board describes BMPs consisting of broad management approaches applicable to the entire maintenance program or to more than one program area. In addition, BMPs for specific maintenance activities or groups of maintenance activities are included. Finally, BMPs concerning specific environmental issues are discussed.
The impact of the global financial crisis on government funds has been significant, with squeezed budgets having to satisfy ever-increasing demands for public services. Managers working in the public sector are confronted daily with targets and demands that are often set in confusing accounting and financial language. In Financial Management and Accounting in the Public Sector, Gary Bandy employs a clear and concise narrative to introduce the core concepts of accounting and financial management in the public sector and how to deliver services that represent value for money. This second edition has been revised and updated throughout, offering: an increased focus on post-crisis austerity more international examples of public financial management greater coverage of governance, accountability and risk management With a glossary of terms to help managers understand and be understood by accountants, as well as learning objectives, case studies and discussion questions, this practical textbook will help students of public management and administration to understand the financial and accounting aspects of managing public services.
"TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 157: State of Good Repair: Prioritizing the Rehabilitation and Replacement of Existing Capital Assets and Evaluating the Implications for Transit presents a framework that builds upon a set of fundamental concepts and provides a basic set of steps for transit agencies to follow when evaluating and prioritizing capital asset rehabilitation and replacement investments. In addition to the printed report, an analytical approach and set of spreadsheet tools were developed to support the framework. These tools address how to evaluate rehabilitation and replacement actions for specific types of transit assets, and how to prioritize candidate rehabilitation and replacement actions."--Publisher's description.
