Establishing objectives is essential to the overall quality of the appraisal of transport options and their ultimate results. The relative performance of options against objectives plays a key role in a STAG study.
Objectives should be developed in accordance with the following principles:
- Transport Planning Objectives should express the outcomes sought in the study area as opposed to any of the activities planned to achieve them;
- The formulation of Transport Planning Objectives should take full account of a thorough investigation of the root causes and consequences underlying identified problems or opportunities;
- It is recognised that Transport Planning Objectives may not be entirely SMART (i.e. include targets) at the Pre-Appraisal phase but such Transport Planning Objectives should be set in a way to facilitate the establishment of entirely SMART Transport Planning Objectives in advance of Part 2 Appraisal;
- Any existing resources in the form of previously established sets of objectives or data resulting from surveys or consultation exercises should be fully used in setting Transport Planning Objectives;
- The Government's Purpose and National Outcomes should inform practitioners in setting Transport Planning Objectives;
- Consideration should be given to the relevant established policy directives;
- A regular dialogue should take place between practitioners and Decision Makers throughout the Objective Setting process (as during the study as a whole); and
- Any application for funding, support or approval from the Scottish Government and/or Transport Scotland will be assessed, in part, on whether there is a clear statement of objectives supported by an explanation of their derivation.
