Practice:
A government should identify and conduct an assessment of its capital assets, including the condition of the assets and factors that could affect the need for or ability to maintain the assets in the future.

Rationale:
The capital assets of a government and their condition are critical to the quality of services provided, and hence are important in determining whether the needs and priorities of stakeholders can be met.

Outputs:
A government should have a process for inventorying its capital assets and assessing the need for and the condition of these assets. The assessment should include an evaluation of issues, challenges, and opportunities affecting the provision of capital assets in the future, such as community needs and priorities; the impact of deferred maintenance; funding issues; changes in technology; economic, demographic, or other factors that may affect demand; and legal or regulatory changes. This review may be undertaken in conjunction with an evaluation of the program or service utilizing the particular assets. The assessment of capital asset condition should consider the impact of any deferred maintenance and needed improvements. Identification or development of measurement standards for the condition of capital assets (including what is regarded as acceptable) are a valuable output of this practice.

Notes:
Reviews of the condition of a capital asset and how well it is meeting its intended purpose may not be undertaken very often, particularly if there is little change occurring. However, the information obtained from these assessments can be an important component of an overall evaluation of community needs and issues. Particular attention should be paid to the extent of deferred maintenance, the impact on service quality, and the impact on costs. Capital assets that have shorter lives or require more maintenance should be examined more frequently than longer-lived assets or assets requiring little maintenance. Governments should stay abreast of developments that may affect their major capital assets, such as regulatory changes, population movements, or technological advances, and consider the impact of such issues in the goal-setting process.