Performance assessment of local mobility policy-making administrations using the principles of total quality management in Flanders, Belgium: Expounding the decision making process

Abstract

This paper describes a quality assessment of the processes underlying municipal mobility policy-making in Flanders(Belgium). 25 criteria and 176 aspects were queried during 25 interview sessions. Results were aggregated at the level of 7 quality domains of action and suggest that Flemish municipal mobility policy-making is generally fairly frail and of an ad-hoc nature. Four factors are found to be determining for this finding: default of political continuity, internal conflicts between stakeholders, lacking internal enterprise, and deficient financial resources. Inter-stakeholder collaboration, residents' participation, and policy-integration with higher-level programs are the strenghts of current mobility policy practices in Flanders.