Protecting Nature by Making Conservation Management Plans

Goals should ideally be developed with a focus on outcomes, rather than on activities or policies. A useful definition is:

A goal is a broad statement that describes a desired end state.

In a community planning process, goals stem from the values inherent in the community's vision for the future. These outcome-oriented goals set the strategic direction for a PBPP process, answering the questions:

• "What do we want our area to look like?"
• "What do we want to achieve?"

Goals should reflect agreed-upon system-wide priorities and should relate to outcomes that matter to the public, not just to the agency internally.

A key principle is that each step in the planning process needs to be clearly connected to the next. This occurs from the initial goal setting phase. Often in planning, goal setting is thought of as a "feel good" activity where everyone gets to have their key issue represented in some goal statement. When developing goals, it is important to think about:

• What outcome are we trying to achieve?
• What role does the agency have in creating or supporting the outcome (do they control it, influence it, or simply philosophically agree with it)?
• What kind of data and analysis would be needed to develop measurable objectives to evaluate progress toward meeting the goal as part of investment decision-making (at the plan level) and at the project selection and outcome tracking level?
• Can we identify how this goal would "look" at the project level - for instance, could project selection criteria be used to support the goal?

The idea is to develop goals that will then form the basis for selecting investments, policies, or activities to help support the attainment of those outcomes, and that performance measures established in relation to these goals will carry through planning and programming decisions.

It is important to recognise that many factors influence transportation system performance, and transportation is only one component of a community: land use, housing, the economy, and natural resources also can play a role. As a result, outcomes may relate to aspects of the transportation system that are only partially under the control or influence of transportation agencies. Goals do not have to fall solely under the control the transportation agency, but the agency should consider its role in affecting outcomes, as well as the influence of factors such as land use decisions, the economy, vehicle technologies, and other issues.

A goal itself does not have to include a measure or target but provides a focus on an issue that is important to a community. By elevating this issue as a goal, it takes on a critical role in the foundation in a management plan.

In addition to outcome-focused goals, an agency may have "guiding principles," "policies," or other statements that reflect values or priorities. These statements often are very important in setting priorities for investments and are used in the planning process to help guide decisions, but do not directly address an outcome for the transportation system that can be measured. These policy or action statements may reflect priorities of the public or be derived from analysis that reflects the role of certain strategies for meeting desired outcomes.