Section 5: Project Performance Measures and Targets
Overview
Potential subgrantees are required to include project performance
measures and targets in all proposals which will be included in
the grant agreement to provide guidance to determine the efficiency
and effectiveness of the project. Each performance measure should
be designed as an evaluative mechanism for measuring the project’s
level of success. Performance targets determine the degree of progress
toward achievement of established performance measures and the effect
on identified problems.
See “General Traffic Safety Proposals,” Chapter 3, Section
2, for examples of completed proposal performance measures and targets.
See “STEP Yearlong Proposals,” Chapter 3, Section 3 for assistance
on Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) performance measures
and targets.
Performance Measures
A performance measure is an indicator to express the activity
that will be used to establish a performance target and must be
directly aligned to the target(s) of a project. Performance measures,
when combined with the performance target, provide the basis for
determining the degree of achievement of established targets. Acceptable
activity levels or outputs are established as part of each grant agreement.
Types of Performance Measures
There are two common types of performance measures:
direct
and proxy
.Direct
measures are preferred. Examples
of direct measures include: number of crashes, citations, people
trained, units purchased, etc. Sometimes it is impossible to get
direct measures. If such is the case, a proxy measure might be used.Proxy
measures are indicators that provide
an indirect assessment of desired activity. An example would be
a self-reporting survey conducted among a statistically valid sample
of the population to determine behavioral change (recognition of
public service announcements on television or radio, safety belt
usage, drunk driving issues, etc.).Estimated Performance Indicators
When appropriate, the problem solution in the proposal will
identify estimated performance indicators or measures (quantities
of work units). Performance measures may be shown as specific requirements.
For example:
- “50 workshops.”
- “100 hours.”
For some types of projects, however, the work unit must be
specific. For example:
- “Submit one report.”
- “Produce one public service announcement.”
Measurement Characteristics
The characteristics of a good performance measure is that it is:
- Measurable.
- Reasonable and attainable.
- Directly linked to objectives.
- Accurate, clearly defined.
- Understandable.
- Objective.
- Practical.
TRF-BTS uses a guideline called the SMART principle to assess performance measures. SMART stands for:
- Specific.
- Measurable.
- Action-Oriented.
- Realistic.
- Time-Framed.
Summary
Performance measures will be defined in each grant agreement.
These measures provide guidelines to determine efficiency and effectiveness
of projects. Performance measures must be negotiated locally and
must be acceptable to all project personnel.