Last modified: 24 Jun 2020 14:40
Evaluation of transport projects is critical for providing useful assessments of their realised performance against identified objectives and targets. In this course, students will be introduced to the transport evaluation process, from the setting of specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related (SMART) targets and metrics, through to methods of transport evaluation including cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis.
| Study Type | Postgraduate | Level | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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Evaluation is a critical part of the transport project planning and engineering process. Given the time and expense associated with transport projects, identifying their intended objectives and targets is a key part of determining their necessary components and ensuring that they are correctly targeted at the intended beneficiaries. It is also useful to ascertain to what extent realised benefits were directly associated with a specific transport project (or bundle of projects) in order to contribute to future decision making.
To conduct evaluation of transport projects, it is necessary first to identify desired outputs (or the direct and immediate result of the project implementation), outcomes (or the benefits that are expected to follow from these outputs), and impacts (or long-term results of the project). This identification then becomes the basis of the formation of the main evaluation questions and overall approach.
Undertaking effective evaluation requires not only careful planning of the evaluation process, but also informed decision making regarding data needed to conduct the evaluation. Pre-project data are needed to set the baseline conditions while additional data collection activities should take place during project construction and after implementation. Decisions regarding the data to be collected is determined, in part, by the evaluation methodology implemented and the impacts to be evaluated.
In this course, students will be introduced to the process of undertaking a transport project evaluation, with attention to the definition of outputs, outcomes, impacts, and indicators. Through the course of the class, students will be introduced to the process of undertaking a project evaluation first through an introduction to the underlying theory and methodology behind evaluation, followed by a pragmatic exercise in which they will design and undertake a group project in evaluation.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
Coursework (40%)
Coursework (60%)
There are no assessments for this course.
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Understand the concept of transport evaluation and its application in practice. |
| Factual | Understand | Understand the concepts of outputs, outcomes, and impacts in a transport context and the data necessary for their assessment. |
| Procedural | Analyse | Analyse an IM project and determine appropriate outputs, outcomes, and impacts. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Evaluate the availability of data resources to undertake appropriate evaluation activities. |
| Procedural | Create | Create a comprehensive evaluation plan. |
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