Framework for the inclusion of social benefits in transport planning.

Over the last 20 years, many road investments in developing countries have been planned and prioritised on the basis of economic appraisal models, such as the HDM series of Highway Development and Management models, as well as prioritisation indices. The road appraisal models are mainly used to evaluate primary and secondary roads, and have an economic framework in which separately identified non-economic (or social) benefits play no part. In contrast, prioritisation indices/ranking procedures are more often used to plan rural access or feeder roads. These are less economic in orientation and often include a social benefit component. Sometimes, national norms have been set and roads have been planned on the basis of minimum levels of accessibility. In this case social benefits are not explicitly identified, but minimum access norms represent an implicit valuation of social access. Although many prioritisation indices have been developed in different countries they have not been widely discussed nor have they been subject to much independent scrutiny. The absence of standard methods for quantifying benefits from low volume roads and for prioritising investments is demonstrated by the diversity in the procedures currently used and is well recognised by DFID, the World Bank, PIARC and many other organisations. In Zimbabwe, socio-economic benefits are quantified in terms of 'pseudo-VOC savings'. In Zambia, prioritisation is done by using multi-criteria analysis of specified factors. In Nepal, this is currently done on an ad hoc basis. The objective of this paper is to identify a suitable method of defining or incorporating social benefits into road appraisal criteria. For this purpose, social benefits include better access and mobility for the poor and better access for the wider population to socio-economic facilities like health centres, schools, government offices, extension services and markets. This project aims to provide a rational basis for quantifying and qualifying benefits from access roads and a universal method of project prioritisation applicable to all roads. This paper proposes a framework for social benefits in a 'way forward' document that defines a common understanding of the term 'social benefits', drawing on consensus between transport professionals and reviewing the methodologies used to evaluate social benefits. For the covering abstract see ITRD E135448.