Global forces upgrading transport research
As pollution and global warming become more serious, governments are realising that a cleaner and more sustainable world involves working closely together, such as in the field of public transport. International cooperation in transport research can create the critical mass required to address key challenges through cutting-edge research. This was the aim of the EU-funded project 'European Transport Research Area international cooperation activities' (EUTRAIN)(opens in new window). Spearheaded by a consortium from Belgium, Germany and Sweden, the project team outlined all necessary aspects to achieve international cooperation in transport research. Specifically, it developed a framework for global cooperation in transport research between the European Transport Research Area (ERA-T) and other regions of the world in order to overcome barriers to collaboration. The many challenges that the project investigated include sharing data, achieving 'global' infrastructures, harmonising approaches and practices, and dealing with intellectual property regimes. The work also involved issues related to research training, researcher mobility and differences in institutional cultures. Importantly, the project team looked at how to facilitate the establishment of open research cooperation programmes, most notably joint programming. Overall, the project led to three major deliverables. The first outlined current practices, characteristics and issues in international transport research cooperation. The second deliverable presented research topics, capabilities and future priorities for this cooperation. The third key deliverable supported stakeholders in heading towards a framework for EU international transport research cooperation. It covered various relevant topics, organisational models, tools and recommendations. Project results have already begun paving the way for greater collaboration on a global scale, helping governments to harmonise practices in the transport sector and furthering synergies at a higher level than before.