TRANSPORTATION

 

Freight transport is a key element for the economy, raising various environmental, social, security or safety issues that are severely increasing in number. High investments in freight transport RTD are made but many RTD projects have never passed the commercialisation threshold.

 

Innovation is key. The success of innovation, however, is not only a question of techniques or technologies. Many non-technological (social, economic, legislative, etc.) factors have a strong influence and a range of research initiatives has integrated socio-economic issues in their approaches. Existing methodologies may require modifications to be accessible to non-expert evaluators (e.g. transport decision-makers, policy-makers).

 

Seven assessment types can be distinguished: technical, economic, socio-economic, financial, market, user acceptance and impact assessment. In the economic, socio-economic and financial assessments, the cost-benefit analysis plays an important role. The consideration of the time criteria is generally restricted to a comparison between zero state and the future and does not take into account the past. Classic analysis methods, like cost-benefit analysis, are sometime unable to assess the relevance (or non-relevance) of a concept or a product.

 

MUTIARA CORPORATION planning to develop a methodology to assess and evaluate projects supported by the Fifth and Sixth Framework Programmes in all fields of freight transport. Based on the results and findings obtained from the evaluation and assessment, recommendations will be developed with concerned transport and research actors to maximise benefits.

 

This Support Action requires an approach that can handle the complexity and transversal aspects of innovation in the freight transport system. In order to identify the framework conditions for freight transport innovations in not only a broader but also a technical sense, MUTIARA is based on the combination of a systemic approach and a socio-economic approach which includes Techniques, Society and Territories approach.

 

MUTIARA CORPORATION will identify critical factors of frieght projects through analysing the success and failure. Based on results coming from the analysis of the past, present and future, we will assess the positive or negative impacts, particularly in the economic, social and environmental fields. Guidelines for current and future projects will then be produced with the aim of minimising the risks of research, and providing recommendations for the definition of new research policy objectives.