Overview

TRANSFORuM followed a systematic step-wise approach to build up towards its final outputs (roadmaps, recommendations and a strategic outlook). This workflow was organised into separate but dovetailed work-packages.

We started with a thorough analysis of the current situation by examining the contemporary context within which all stakeholders in the European transport area operate. This included policy frameworks, funding opportunities, important actors and overarching trends. These tasks were organised in work-package 3, led by AustriaTech.

These results fed into work-package 4, the analysis of challenges and barriers and an investigation of how these could be overcome. These and all other findings and conclusions were presented to stakeholders in order to test, verify and sharpen their validity and relevance. The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute led these tasks.

“Transformation is possible” was the main heading for the work-package (no. 5) building on top of these results in TRANSFORuM’s overall workflow. A team at the University of Oxford extracted lessons from some of Europe’s good practice cases in order to demonstrate that and how significant change in the right direction and at the required speed is possible.

Challenges

In order to identify and understand the challenges and barriers impeding the timely and successful delivery of the 4 specific goals of the White Paper TRANSFORuM asked the question: What are the challenges and barriers to implementation? TRANSFORuM focused its resources on addressing a limited number of issues that really matter. The key challenges and barriers are not always well defined or well known. Therefore, they had to be identified specifically in the context of the four Thematic Groups. We did this through interviews and workshops with key experts and actors. The first Joint Forum Meeting (June 2013) helped to identify those challenges and barriers that should have priority within the project. This then influenced the agenda of topics to be addressed in ensuing activities and allowed us to focus on possible ways to tackle the challenges and barriers. Since some of the reasons for resisting change might not be expressed in groups (especially if they run counter to widely held positions) other methods were required. Hence, we conducted a number of in-depth interviews with selected stakeholders.

Good Practice

Roadmaps are only effective if they build on measures that work in practice. TRANSFORuM therefore also pursued the question what effective solutions do we already know?  This workpackage (no. 5)  with the title “Transformation is possible” was led by the Transport Studies Unit (TSU) at the University of Oxford. It consisted of two main elements:

• Firstly we compiled a repository of 40 good practice case studies – 10 relevant to each of the TRANSFORuM White Paper goals – demonstrating that action that could contribute towards achieving the White Paper goals is underway across Europe. This work involved detailed research and interviews with relevant stakeholders.
• Secondly, we convened 4 workshops in the Autumn of 2013 with a diverse group of stakeholders from across Europe to gain insights on what current good practice looks like, how it is currently being shared and how it could be shared in the future. These workshops included ‘on the ground’ experiences for participating stakeholders, to expose them first-hand to some of the innovative and transformational activities that are underway.
• We also organised 4 workshops in the spring 2014 to discuss the TRANSFORuM roadmaps. The locations of these workshops were also determined through the work on good practice cases, to expose participants to positive developments taking place across Europe.

Using these insight, it was possible to identify common success factors and challenges between cases and across Thematic Group areas, as well as policy areas or initiatives that could be replicated. We also considered where barriers have been experienced in the implementation of policies as well as successful efforts that have been able to overcome them. The role of the EU in facilitating further good practice was also explored.

The TRANSFORuM Implementation Roadmaps

TRANSFORuM’s main project results consist of:

• the implementation-oriented roadmaps for the four selected White Paper goals,
• targeted and specific recommendations as well as a
• detailed strategic outlook into the future European transport system.

In autumn 2013, the TRANSFORuM team has started the work on these documents. Building strongly on the existing reports and documents from previous project activities as well as gathering the inputs from the stakeholder consultation activities until mid 2014, we ensured to make the best possible use of stakeholders’ expertise, views and insights.

In line with this, the roadmaps were developed in an iterative way together with stakeholders in the transport sector. We started the roadmapping process for the four thematic groups in a series of eight themtic workshops:

• Clean Urban Transport in Oslo (October '13) and Copenhagen (May '14)
• Long-Distance Freight in Basel (November '13) and Duisburg (June '14)
• High-Speed Rail in Lyon (November '13) and Rome (June '14)
  
• Intermodal Information, Management and Ticketing in Reading (November '13) and Tallinn (May '14).

In the spirit of complete transparency we make the summaries and minutes of these events available to the public (autumn '13 / spring '14).

All of the above activities eventually led to the creation of TRANSFORuM's stakeholder-driven and implementation-oriented roadmaps, which include proposals of measures required to achieve the White Paper goals, key milestones, relevant actors, and other important elements to describe the pathways towards the White Paper goals.

The final results were be presented at a conference in Brussels on 8 December 2014.