1. Evaluation and Urban Planning:Charting New Territory Mark Seasons, Ph.D. School of Planning University of Waterloo 15 May 2000

2. Presentation • Background • Study Finding • Implications for Practice

3. Context • New ways of doing business • Response to resource constraints • Concerns about effectiveness • Demands for accountability • Efficiency-driven organizations • Focus on performance measurement

4. Study • What role(s) for monitoring and evaluation? • Directions from theory and literature? • Realities of practice? • Comparison and contrast • Lessons learned • Best practices

5. Study • Monitoring and evaluation (M+E) - lots of discussion in literature • Part of rational planning model • Big issue in 1960’s, early 1970’s • Focus on quantitative techniques • Examples: cost-benefit, impact analysis

6. Typical Monitoring Activities • Demography • Population • Economic patterns • Development trends • Infrastructure capacity • Natural environment (impacts)

7. Study • Issue: what is nature of practice? • How much and type of M+E? • Gap between theory and practice – why so little M+E? • Research: literature review, content analysis and interviews • Senior planners from Ontario’s regional municipalities

8. Study Findings • M+E done by every regional municipality • Nature and type varies widely • Typical: tracking development trends, demographics, staff performance • Atypical: probe for values, perceptions, use of sophisticated indicators • Innovations: report cards, focus groups

9. Study Findings • Monitoring a regular activity • Evaluation episodic • Most do basic M+E • Issues: resource constraints, political will, organizational culture, time • Issue: evaluable plans and policies • Issue: appropriate indicators

10. Enabling Factors • Staff, time, expertise • Learning organization • Evaluable goals, objectives, policies • Respect for policy, long-term planning • Clear, supportable rationale • Indicators – qualitative and quantitative • Consultation and participation

11. Impediments • Resource constraints – real and perceived • Insecure organizational culture • Focus on “action”, short-term • Reliance on traditional quantitative data • Absence of political, administrative support • Ineffective indicators • Poor communications strategy

12. Implications • M+E essential in performance-based decision-making environment • Process must be tailored to context • Must be easily managed, maintained • Indicators a critical element • Quantitative and qualitative data essential • Must be introduced incrementally

13. Leaders • Hamilton-Wentworth (VISION 2020) • York Region (Report Card) • Seattle (Sustainable development) • Calgary (Transportation Plan)

14. Applications • Land Use Policy Plans • Process Monitoring • Staff Performance • Special Purpose Policies • Support for Corporate Benchmarking