This page provides information about why and how we evaluate whether the expected benefits for National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) investments have been realised.
Waka Kotahi, like all government departments and agencies, must be able to demonstrate to the government and New Zealand taxpayers that we are spending public money wisely and achieving the expected outcomes from our investments. Ensuring robust benefits realisation processes and products is a key reason for the implementation of the benefits framework.
Introduction to benefits management in transport planning and investment
Because the benefits framework enables consistent benefit identification and measurement across the NLTP, it allows for a broader range of benefits realisation activity and reporting. By increasing consistency in identification and measurement of benefits across investments, it will be possible to understand the impact of investment in individual projects and/or programmes, across geographical areas, investment types and nationally.
The Land Transport Benefits Framework
The systems and requirements for ongoing benefits monitoring are currently being designed, however, we expect that:
Monitoring requirements and processes will be different for different programmes or projects, because they have different levels of detail required. For example, the monitoring of benefit measures included in an activity management plan (AMP) will be different from the monitoring of measures included in a single-stage business case (SSBC).
The information entered into Transport Investment Online (TIO) will be used as the basis of the future monitoring mechanisms, and features will be built into TIO to assist reporting organisations, such as early notification of measures due to be reported in a given year.
We also expect that centralised data, where it is available, will inform monitoring. Waka Kotahi will continue to improve the tools and processes to make the ongoing monitoring of measures as smooth as possible for reporting organisations. We will work with our investment partners to design it to meet our and their needs.
Waka Kotahi will begin formal reporting on the benefits framework and associated measures with the 2021–24 NLTP period. A transitional approach will be taken to lead into full integration of benefits data as it becomes available across the NLTP period.
When fully applied, benefits data relating to quantitative and qualitative benefits measures, particularly those with centrally held data, will be referenced in the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) report; and reporting will be guided by the benefits that contribute to the current Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS), as well as long-term benefits realisation reporting.
In the first year of an NLTP, baselines of benefit measures, as appropriate, will be the focus. Short-term benefits realisation will be tracked throughout the life of the current NLTP, and long-term benefits realisation will continue in subsequent years.
Waka Kotahi is developing an approach to interim and final audits and benefits realisation reviews that takes into account the new benefits framework in association with other assurance activities.
We will communicate this approach with our investment partners when finalised.
Over the next NLTP period, Waka Kotahi will be developing and testing other opportunities to use benefits realisation data for reporting and analysis to inform and continue to improve the land transport sector’s delivery of benefits.
We welcome any suggestions from the sector. If you have any feedback about what benefits realisation reporting or analysis would be useful for you, please discuss with your Waka Kotahi advisor or e-mail investment.benefits@nzta.govt.nz.
