Proceedings of the 13th Meeting of the
Transport and Communications Working Group
5
the use of statistics on current practices in selected OECD countries. The relevant aspects and
related questions are presented below:
 Legal basis:
o Legal requirement : which type of requirement is in place, if any? Is there a legal
requirement to carry out transport project appraisal or it is it simply a recommended
practice? Does the obligation define appraisal objectives, features, and methodology to
be used?
o The scope of application: is the requirement for project appraisals common to all public
investments (above a specific cost threshold) or is it specific for the transport sector? Is
the project appraisal system diversified depending on the scale and typology of the
project? is the appraisal performed on individual projects or on strategies?
o Timing: during the project preparation phase when is project appraisal usually
prepared? Is the project appraisal development performed ‘early’ enough in the process
when project alternatives are still to be selected?
 Governance:
o Roles: who is responsible for transport capital expenditure decisions? Is there a
coordinating entity at a central level or project appraisal practices largely delegated to
sectoral/local procurement agencies? Which activities are delegated at the
sectoral/local level? Who performs the transport project appraisals? is project appraisal
performed by a technical unit within the administration or by private consultants? How
are the responsibilities and functions of procurement agencies, project promoter, and
project appraisers specified?
o Quality review: How are quality standards for project appraisal defined? Is there a
system of independent quality review of project appraisal?
o Publicity: are project appraisal reports publicly available? how are the stakeholders
included in the appraisal process? Are project appraisal results systematically used to
inform public consultations and debate?
 Capacity and tools:
o Capacity: Is technical capacity constantly monitored and ensured? Is there a systematic
training and dissemination programme to improve internal capacity (with periodic
monitoring of the alignment to state-of-the-art methodologies)? Is training in project
evaluation provided? If yes, by whom?
o Tools: Are there standard tools such as models or templates that shall be followed for
analysis and reporting? Are general and specific guidelines developed?
o Data sources: Which kind of data is used in the analysis (reliable, weak)?
o Standards and guidelines : Are there specific legal requirements on the content of the
appraisal report or is there no clear standard required? Are there references parameters
(e.g. time horizon, discount rates) and unit values provided in a prescriptive way or does
the project analyst enjoy flexibility in performing the analysis?