A resource allocation model to support air quality management in South Africa

South African Air Quality Units are continuously undergoing changes, andimproving their performance remains a constant endeavour. In addition, theseunits are also experiencing several challenges in terms of improvingcommunication across the different spheres, accessing air quality data and usingthe information to support the decision-making required for efficient managementof air quality in South Africa. This study investigated the concept of outputefficiency within the South African air quality management context. Models thatenable efficient resource allocation can be used to assist managers inunderstanding how to become efficient. There are, however, few models thatfocus on the output efficiency of the public sector and air quality managementunits. The primary purpose of the study was to develop a model to predict theextent to which organisational efficiency could be explained by the percentage ofman-hours allocated to a range of management activities. In this study, thedevelopment of a model using the logistic regression technique is discussed.Data was collected for two financial years (2005/6 and 2006/7) from the airquality officers in the national, provincial and local spheres of government(N=228). The logistic regression model fitted indicates that the proportion of timespent on knowledge management activities contributes the most to the likelihoodof an Air Quality Unit being efficient. The resource allocation model developedwill ensure that air quality officers allocate resources appropriately and improvetheir output performance.