SOURCE (Standard Overall Ultralite Road Care Estimate), a large-scale benchmark tool for road networks
Louis Fernique
Over the past ten years or so, the road sector in a number of Sub-Saharan African countries has undergone major reforms. New policies have been introduced, such as the off budget financing of road maintenance and the direct participation of road users in the road management entities. Real evidence of impact on the ground is something that all partners in the reform process would like to see. All these players have a strong need for efficient monitoring instruments to assess progress, achievements and the eventual relevance of the reforms.
To help answer the question of “How to correctly monitor and assess progress in road maintenance,” this note presents the "SOURCE" project launched in 1998 by the Road Management Initiative (RMI). SOURCE is a large-scale benchmark tool for road networks, which is used to monitor the actual level of service of a road network, taken as an overall indicator of the physical performance of a network.