Arra Projects As Contributors To Desired Outcomes

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The task of isolating ARRA-funded impacts will be relatively simple in some cases, but exceedingly difficult in others. Often, ARRA funds will supplement other federal, state, or local funds being used for a similar purpose. It will be important to keep these funds separate for all project-specific reporting as prescribed by OMB and other federal agencies; however, for the reporting of outcomes, the isolation of a project's contribution to improving overall condition might be a complicating factor not altogether necessary if demonstrating an impact approximately is almost as valuable as demonstrating an impact precisely.

For example, ARRA funds will be a major contributor—but not the only contributor—to the improved condition of roadways, water and sewer system, housing inventory, and public transit system in various communities. Will it be enough to report the average percentage improvement among local governments using ARRA funds for that purpose, while dolce gabbana jewelry carefully acknowledging that other programs and other factors may have contributed ...
... as well? The objective of minimizing burdensome reporting requirements would lean in favor of arguing that it is.

Through ARRA, local governments have an opportunity to demonstrate to federal and state officials their value as an intergovernmental partner. They have a high profile opportunity to demonstrate to citizens across the nation their ability to deliver results.

Predictably, the nation's attention eventually will turn to the reinvestment aspects of ARRA, and the public will ask what it gained from this massive expenditure beyond jobs created or retained. Federal, state, and local officials will be able to cite the number of projects completed, and they will be able to recite selected inventory statistics—for instance, the number of miles of water line replaced and miles of roadway paved—but they will be able to report relatively little in the way of aggregate outcomes.

The proposed measures demonstrate the value of local government efforts individually and collectively through the aggregation of individual measures. They will allow government officials to respond to the public's questions with more than an inventory of projects. For an important portion of those projects, they will be able to say much more—for instance, describing the reduction of water losses attributable to water line replacement, the portion of resurfaced roadway last resurfaced in the 1980s or earlier, and the growth in public transit ridership.

These measures are practical choices, sometimes compromising the ideal metric in order to secure the "doable." The conscientious reporting of these measures will provide a Cheap Cartier jewelry response to pundits and critics. More importantly, measurement will allow dispassionate reporting to the public in what increasingly has become a highly charged atmosphere.

As the focus on ARRA results intensifies, local governments can demonstrate their value as an intergovernmental partner, perhaps to their benefit for future initiatives. However, demonstrating benefits beyond the initial objective of job creation and retention will require local government initiative beyond that called for by ARRA and initial reporting guidelines.

Responding to the nation's ultimate focus on societal benefits beyond jobs and economic stimulation will require performance measurement not currently required by the act—measurement that will be necessary to demonstrate aggregated and cumulative benefits.