ABSTRACT
Performance Assessment (PA) and benchmarking involve the assessment of the current state of performance of a (drainage) system and the evaluation of the findings against widely accepted good performance standards (the benchmarks). PA is different from monitoring and evaluation (M&E) which is a more generic assessment methodology used to assess impacts of interventions rather than performance of systems. PA provides system managers with insight into the system shortcomings on the basis of which remedial actions can be taken. A key role in this process is played by the indicators which are the (sets of) parameters which provide the required information on the system (further described in section 23.2). A distinction may be made between :
Operational Performance Assessment: this concerns the performance of the regular drainage systems at the project/scheme level. The PA may be applied to entire systems or to specific system components (sub-units). Generally, these systems were designed to achieve rather specific and explicitly formulated goals, which can serve as the benchmarks against which the performance can be assessed; Strategic Performance Assessment: here the focus is on the contribution of drainage to the general socio-economic development of the region/country and on the justification for the use of the involved financial, natural and other resources. The benchmarks for this assessment may be derived from the relevant regional and national plans but, by their nature, these are less specific and explicit than the operational benchmarks.
