Governance Decision-Making Tool

Effectiveness and Resilience

How can we measure our performance against the aims of the area?

The role of designated areas is often one of facilitating and initiating others to carry out actions that benefit the area, rather than always carrying out these actions themselves. As such, it may be difficult to measure the “performance” of a designated area – that is, to gain a quantifiable sense of whether it is achieving what it set out to do. Nonetheless there is a need to keep track of whether the area is doing what it set out to do, so there are decisions to be made around how to ensure that this happens.

Setting targets then assessing performance against them is of course one means of measuring success. The targets to be set will depend hugely on the type of designation an area has, as well as its overall aims, and the political/economic context in which it is operating. A key overarching aim of most designated areas, however, is engaging stakeholders in the integrated management of an area, so suitable targets may relate to this.

Targets may also be based on wider strategies from outwith the area – for example, desired outcomes set by national government or local authority, around the environment, or health and wellbeing. Tying in the aims of designated areas with national or local government strategies may be comparatively easy if the area is closely affiliated with the municipality or local authority. For more independent organisations, however, doing so may be just as important. While wider issues such as climate change may provide a “hook” for engaging the public with the aims of a designated area, tying in with national or international strategies may similarly provide a “hook” that independent organisations can use to attract funding.

Examples of targets relating to stakeholder engagement may be based on number of “members” of a designated area, number of people present at public events, or even numbers of “followers” on social media channels such as Twitter and Instagram. Assessing progress against these targets will help those responsible for the governance of a designated area to gain an idea of the extent to which the local community and other stakeholders recognise the area as a relevant body for addressing issues of local importance.

The Scottish Government’s sixteen “national outcomes” provide an example of a wider strategy that organisations can align their priorities with. Of course, national strategies such as this will shift over time, which adds to the importance of regularly reviewing the strategy of an area.