Challenges Regarding the Performance of Public Investment Projects

Investments, approached as a factor influencing the future, have an essential role in economic growth and development by stimulating the production process and by creating new, high-performing structures that are correlated with the specific needs of individuals and society. From the point of view of access to resources, but also of economic-social competition, economic development generates a higher level of performance, certified on the basis of qualitative and quantitative evaluation processes. In this context, the analysis system of investment projects must be based on operational principles and instruments with medium and long-term impact, capable of aligning with strategic visions. In this paper, based on the research carried out in the specialized literature and the analyzed studies regarding public investments, we identify the current challenges regarding the performance of public investment projects and propose a series of criteria for evaluating the performance of public investments and a sequence of stages to ensure the elimination of non-performing projects at the local, regional and national level. The results of the present research reveal the inadequate prioritization of public investments to ensure adequate sustainability and offer us the opportunity to develop new research directions in the following works in which we will analyze the impact that inadequate prioritization has on the sustainability of local, regional and national communities.