Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The chosen indicators guide the appropriate monitoring program. For
example if an indicator is groundwater level, then the monitoring program
would include measurement of groundwater level at representative locations.
Selection of measurable indicators is critical to evaluation of the water
resource plan. The indicators must be affordable and feasible to monitor, but
at the same time clearly relevant to plan logic, otherwise they are a waste of
effort and resources. Further discussion of performance indicators is provided
in Chapter 9.
Logic framework terminology used in this topic
As shown above, there are many variations in the shape of logic frameworks
and the terminology used. For example, objectives are labelled in a myriad
of different ways, usually reflecting terms used in local legislation, policy
or practice, including visions, goals, purposes, aims, outcomes, outputs,
principles, objectives, and targets. Regardless of the labels used, they are an
expression of outcomes that are intended to be achieved either wholly or in
part, in the short or the long term, and they can be expressed in a hierarchical
logic framework, with different labels used for different levels. Likewise some
plans label specific actions under the plan as strategies, rules, activities and
other terms.
In the remainder of this topic we adopt a terminology and logic framework
for objectives based on an adaptation of the World Bank (Team Technologies)
Logic Framework approach shown in Table 3.1, taking into account ecosystem
services concepts from Plant
et al.
(2012) that are discussed further in chapter
5. This is shown in Table 3.3.
We define
objectives
as the desired benefits and associated services that
derive from the water resource.
Outputs
are the water regime characteristics
that are expected to deliver those benefits and associated services, subject to
key external assumptions.
Actions
are the means that the plan puts in place
to achieve those water regime characteristics. The objectives and outputs
together are the
outcomes hierarchy
that is the core of the plan's logic.
For example, an
objective
might be improved economic production via
irrigation and industry; corresponding
outputs
might indicate that water
should be available to be diverted when and where needed for irrigation and
industry; and the
actions
to achieve the outputs might include construction
and operation of dams and weirs.
O
bjectives
and
outputs
are mostly defined non-quantitatively. For competing
objectives, the extent that they are achieved, or put at risk, will depend on
the final actions adopted.
Performance indicators
and targets are used to indicate
quantitatively the extent that objectives and outputs are expected to be
achieved and thus the level of trade-off between competing objectives adopted
in the plan after consideration of the benefits, risks and impacts of different
management options.
Performance indicators
are the things to be measured,
and
targets
are the levels of the performance indicators that the plan hopes to
