November 2007

A model for the performance analysis of local bodies

Goal of the study

• The aim of the study is the evaluation of the performance of local bodies during the realization of public investiments.

• This study origins from the observation, in the data provided by the various monitoring systems, of a systematic understimation of project costs and length.

• It consists on the analysis of factors that impact on the duration of development’s project cycle;

• These factors could be grouped in three areas:– Project characteristics;

– Institutional context;

– Socio-economic context.

Project life-cycle

Start work

design Selection of ontractor

Contract

stipulation

completion

Design

changes

Design-awarding of contract

Works- operational stage

Suspensions

Testing, inspections of work

• By project life-cycle we intend the different macro - phases in which each project evolves: design - awarding the contract and works- operational stage. Each of them is divided into elementary phases (see figure below);

• Each phase is identified by a start date and an end date. The difference between the two dates is called duration of the phase.

• The analysis focus on the duration of the phases.

Sources of data

• Characteristics of projects:

•Data base of the Public contracts Observatory (maintained by the Public Contracts Oversight Authority. The universe covers all public works and tenders (excluding contracts for goods and services) for which the oversight body gathers a set of information from Government Departments as required by public works regulation;

• Institutional context:

•Quarterly cash flows by the State General Accounting Department of Economic and Finance Ministry. It provides information about current and capital incomes and expenditures of local bodies (municipality level);

•Informations about the staff of local Public Administrations by Internal Affair Ministry (i.e. age, sex, studies, professional qualification, etc. at municipality level)

•Call for tender provided by a private organization. It contains information on the tenders for tangible and untangible infrastructures organized by public entities in Italy.

Sources of data

• Socio-economic context:•Data base of territorial data (province level) maintained by Catholic University of Piacenza, Laboratory of Territorial Economy, that provides indicators on social, economical and environmental contests.

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL

DYNAMISM

BLACK HOLECAUTIOUS

DURATIONOF THE PHASES

PRODUCTIVITY

GO - AHEAD

PROJECT

TYPE OF WORKS

SECTOR

TYPEOF PROCEDURE

WORK - LOAD

N.OF CALLS FOR TENDER

N. EMPLOYEES

LOCALADMINISTRATION

STAFFCHARACTERISTICS

STATICITY

EXPERIENCEDYNAMISM

N. OF FIRMS

FINANCIAL DIMENSION

TERRITORY

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT

ENVIRONMENT

SOCIETY

ECONOMY

A graphical representation of the model