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The National Park Service uses a method of prioritizing construction projects that was originally developed by Jim Suhr, N. Ogden, Utah.  Results of this process are used to determine which projects Congress will fund.  Meetingworks (combined with MeetingKit!) is a perfect fit for this very disciplined process.

The process involves scoring projects by the magnitude of the advantage of having the project completed, using several categories or factors (e.g., "Prevention of the loss of a resource", "Visitor enjoyment").  Each year the project mix determines the scoring factors.  Projects are written at the individual park level with the factors in mind.  Projects are scored in all factors after determining "anchors" in each factor (i.e., the project that BEST exemplifies the advantage in that factor).

After all projects are scored in all factors (using MeetingKit), a spreadsheet showing the projects in "importance" or "advantage" order is reviewed.  After this validation, a cost/benefit factor is applied, which produces a final list of recommendations for projects to be funded.

This process is an objective way to perform this tedious and complicated task which provides a way to engage participants, and come to complete consensus.  It could be used to allocate capital funding or prioritize planning efforts.  Its benefits include providing corporate memory and consistency, along with buy-in from all levels of participation.