Improving Trust and Communication Between Experts to Facilitate a Learning Use of the Cost Benefit Analysis

Abstract

In the Netherlands, cost benefit analysis (CBA) is a mandatory tool for assessing integrated spatial transport plans, yet its suitability for complex, multi-sector projects is questioned. Planners often experience CBA as a final judgment rather than a learning tool, while mutual distrust and poor communication between planners and economists hinder its effectiveness. This paper explores how bottlenecks in the CBA process can be addressed through improved expert communication and trust-building, drawing on theories from deliberative planning and organizational learning. Using the CIMO-framework, it proposes a theoretical design to make CBA more adaptive to contemporary demands in transport planning.