Periodic Reporting for period 2 - WE-TRANSFORM (WORKFORCE EUROPE - TRANSFORMATION AGENDA FOR TRANSPORT AUTOMATION)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-06-01 bis 2024-03-31
The adoption of automation and artificial intelligence have shown an acceleration that will have a considerable impact on the workforce in quantitative and qualitative terms. Therefore, it is crucial that policy makers take evidence-based decisions aiming at managing the transition to adapt the workforce skills to the new demands. Eventually, the companies will need to rethink the organisation of work and manage the transition, leveraging the process through revised human resource management, evaluation, and training techniques.
Hence, the high-level objective of WE-TRANSFORM has been to promote collectively prioritised themes on the future of jobs and working conditions across all transport modes by considering the digitalisation and automation processes. The high-level objective has been achieved and three specific objectives have been met:
• a collaborative platform – the Living Hub – for the discussion of the effects of digitalisation and automation on transport labour with relevant stakeholders;
• the co-creation of user-friendly and shareable knowledge related to automation impacts on transport workforce;
• an evidence-based and action-oriented policy agenda to support transport workforce in the digital and automation transition.
The final result of the WE-TRANSFORM project is a policy agenda including 11 policies, related to four thematic areas (Public governance and regulation; Industrial governance; Training and reskilling; and Minimisation of labour exclusion and exploitation), preventing that digitalisation and automation in transport sector - crucial for EU countries competitiveness - takes place at the expense of social progress.
Hence, the high-level objective of WE-TRANSFORM has been to promote collectively prioritised themes on the future of jobs and working conditions across all transport modes by considering the digitalisation and automation processes. The high-level objective has been achieved and three specific objectives have been met:
• a collaborative platform – the Living Hub – for the discussion of the effects of digitalisation and automation on transport labour with relevant stakeholders;
• the co-creation of user-friendly and shareable knowledge related to automation impacts on transport workforce;
• an evidence-based and action-oriented policy agenda to support transport workforce in the digital and automation transition.
The final result of the WE-TRANSFORM project is a policy agenda including 11 policies, related to four thematic areas (Public governance and regulation; Industrial governance; Training and reskilling; and Minimisation of labour exclusion and exploitation), preventing that digitalisation and automation in transport sector - crucial for EU countries competitiveness - takes place at the expense of social progress.
The Living Hub was established and includes workers and stakeholders from all sectors and transport modes (passengers and freight) as well as unions, public authorities and policy makers. Living Hub has been the place in which discussions took place through workshops and events. Six stakeholder workshops have been organised during the project: two online and four in presence – Riga, Brussels, Vienna, Torino.
A review of the state-of-the-art was made on the impacts that digitalisation and automation have on the workforce, through an AI Tool developed in the project and the partners’ knowledge, showing a lack of knowledge on the studied topic. Barriers, gaps, successful and failure factors from automation and digitalisation were analysed and discussed in focus groups and through a survey and a poll, to end with the formulation and ranking of a list of actions to address barriers and gaps in relation to the impact of digitalisation and automation on the workforce. A two-round Delphi-type of survey was finally used to formulate a narrower list of the most significant actions among them where a larger consensus was achieved.
The above impacts were then evaluated using a twofold approach: Analytic Hierarchy Process and semi-structured interviews with 68 senior managers (e.g. CEO, CIO, Director), managing organisational areas such as Strategy, Innovation, Operations, HR representing transport sector organisations across Europe and beyond. Then, the legal impacts were analysed thanks to a methodology defined to collect and analyse the data coming from two typologies of sources: (i) the impact sources, which are those focused on identifying the impacts that could be considered legal impacts; and (ii) the regulatory sources, which are those focused on identifying the relevant regulatory context. A knowledge base on the legal impacts was produced and some regulatory policies formulated. Based on these results, scenarios (pathways) to enable the workforce to effectively meet the challenges of the transport digitalisation and automation in the future were developed. Backcasting approach was used: analysis of the current situation (baseline); description of the desired future and its visions (goals); detailed presentation of the policy measures suggested by and discussed with the stakeholders; description of the pathways; and the pathways’ assessment.
The final outcome of the project, the policy agenda and the business model for the Living Hub were eventually obtained. Eleven policies related to four thematic areas – 1) Public governance and regulation; 2) Industrial governance; 3) Training and reskilling; 4) Minimisation of labour exclusion and exploitation – have been defined thanks to the numerous discussions and meetings with stakeholders that took place over many months, from July 2023 to January 2024, in several European countries (Spain, Greece, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Finland, Latvia, Bulgaria, Austria) and in the United States. In total, 322 stakeholders and 73 workers have been directly involved in discussions. 395 persons have participated to the creation of the first draft of the policy, followed by validation, in two steps: a focus group held in Washington D.C followed by a panel of 43 stakeholders from Italy, Spain, Greece, France, Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Latvia, The Netherlands, UK, USA, and South Korea, covering all the transport sectors as well the requested profiles (companies, labour lawyer and psychologists, labour economists, R&D, training agencies, trade unions, and politicians). The 11 policies are presented in the form of a sheet divided into four parts: "policy content", "implementation", "timeframe" and "who is responsible for the implementation".
The business model options and an implementation roadmap for the sustainability of the future platform were done by conducting a comprehensive gap analysis of existing channels for collaboration and best practice exchange at the EU level. A modelling of the value proposition of the platform is proposed based on partners’ contributions. Additionally, financing models are proposed through the application of viable business models for the platform and providing a roadmap for its implementation over the first two years post-project.
Finally, Work Package 6 focused on the dissemination and communication strategy of the workshops and events. The knowledge base available on the website was fed by the project activities. In addition, the thematic cooperation and synergies with other projects and initiatives from Horizon 2020 and beyond, at national level, and the scientific publications written during the project by all partners were reported.
A review of the state-of-the-art was made on the impacts that digitalisation and automation have on the workforce, through an AI Tool developed in the project and the partners’ knowledge, showing a lack of knowledge on the studied topic. Barriers, gaps, successful and failure factors from automation and digitalisation were analysed and discussed in focus groups and through a survey and a poll, to end with the formulation and ranking of a list of actions to address barriers and gaps in relation to the impact of digitalisation and automation on the workforce. A two-round Delphi-type of survey was finally used to formulate a narrower list of the most significant actions among them where a larger consensus was achieved.
The above impacts were then evaluated using a twofold approach: Analytic Hierarchy Process and semi-structured interviews with 68 senior managers (e.g. CEO, CIO, Director), managing organisational areas such as Strategy, Innovation, Operations, HR representing transport sector organisations across Europe and beyond. Then, the legal impacts were analysed thanks to a methodology defined to collect and analyse the data coming from two typologies of sources: (i) the impact sources, which are those focused on identifying the impacts that could be considered legal impacts; and (ii) the regulatory sources, which are those focused on identifying the relevant regulatory context. A knowledge base on the legal impacts was produced and some regulatory policies formulated. Based on these results, scenarios (pathways) to enable the workforce to effectively meet the challenges of the transport digitalisation and automation in the future were developed. Backcasting approach was used: analysis of the current situation (baseline); description of the desired future and its visions (goals); detailed presentation of the policy measures suggested by and discussed with the stakeholders; description of the pathways; and the pathways’ assessment.
The final outcome of the project, the policy agenda and the business model for the Living Hub were eventually obtained. Eleven policies related to four thematic areas – 1) Public governance and regulation; 2) Industrial governance; 3) Training and reskilling; 4) Minimisation of labour exclusion and exploitation – have been defined thanks to the numerous discussions and meetings with stakeholders that took place over many months, from July 2023 to January 2024, in several European countries (Spain, Greece, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Finland, Latvia, Bulgaria, Austria) and in the United States. In total, 322 stakeholders and 73 workers have been directly involved in discussions. 395 persons have participated to the creation of the first draft of the policy, followed by validation, in two steps: a focus group held in Washington D.C followed by a panel of 43 stakeholders from Italy, Spain, Greece, France, Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Latvia, The Netherlands, UK, USA, and South Korea, covering all the transport sectors as well the requested profiles (companies, labour lawyer and psychologists, labour economists, R&D, training agencies, trade unions, and politicians). The 11 policies are presented in the form of a sheet divided into four parts: "policy content", "implementation", "timeframe" and "who is responsible for the implementation".
The business model options and an implementation roadmap for the sustainability of the future platform were done by conducting a comprehensive gap analysis of existing channels for collaboration and best practice exchange at the EU level. A modelling of the value proposition of the platform is proposed based on partners’ contributions. Additionally, financing models are proposed through the application of viable business models for the platform and providing a roadmap for its implementation over the first two years post-project.
Finally, Work Package 6 focused on the dissemination and communication strategy of the workshops and events. The knowledge base available on the website was fed by the project activities. In addition, the thematic cooperation and synergies with other projects and initiatives from Horizon 2020 and beyond, at national level, and the scientific publications written during the project by all partners were reported.
The literature and projects referring mainly to the automated/autonomous vehicles are abundant but not any impact on the workforce was mentioned in such projects. Thus, the contribution of WE-TRANSFORM is of high importance in a field where there is not an evidence-based information on how the automation and digitalisation have impacted and will impact the workforce. In addition, not any dialogue among stakeholders from different transport modes and limited and fragmented social dialogue has been recorded.
The WE-TRANSFORM consortium, leveraging existing data and people’s expertise has created an ecosystem, the cross-national Living Hub, as a platform to create knowledge and offering a path forward for smarter decisions, more innovative and evidence-based policymaking, through informed governance. The approach is highly collaborative, promoting a participatory approach, using collective intelligence, that has allowed to prioritise the challenges of digitalisation and automation on the transport labour force and, eventually, achieve an evidence-based and action-oriented agenda.
The WE-TRANSFORM consortium, leveraging existing data and people’s expertise has created an ecosystem, the cross-national Living Hub, as a platform to create knowledge and offering a path forward for smarter decisions, more innovative and evidence-based policymaking, through informed governance. The approach is highly collaborative, promoting a participatory approach, using collective intelligence, that has allowed to prioritise the challenges of digitalisation and automation on the transport labour force and, eventually, achieve an evidence-based and action-oriented agenda.