REthinking Future Infrastructure NETworks

Project Information

REFINET

Grant agreement ID: 653789

DOI

10.3030/653789

Project closed

EC signature date 9 April 2015

Start date 1 May 2015

End date 30 April 2017

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Total cost

€ 998 235,51

EU contribution

€ 998 235,51

Coordinated by

CENTRE SCIENTIFIQUE ET TECHNIQUE DU BATIMENT
France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - REFINET (REthinking Future Infrastructure NETworks)

Reporting period: 2016-05-01 to 2017-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The European Transport Infrastructures (TI) require refurbishment and increased capacities, based on the development and delivery of innovative concepts and solutions that strengthen seamless transport links for passenger and freight. REFINET has established a sustainable R&D network that integrates stakeholders’ representatives of all transport modes and TI sectors to deliver a shared European vision of how the multimodal European TI network of the future should be specified, designed, built, renovated, and maintained, and elaborate a SIP (Strategic Implementation Plan) defining the innovation activities required to make this shared vision a reality.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Work performed from the beginning to the end of the project includes:

Project management activities (WP1):
• Day to day administrative and financial coordination of the project.
• Organisation of 7 consortium meetings (physical meetings).
• Participation to 3 workshops with the other CSAs (FOX, USE-iT), the Collaborative Innovation days with the EC, and the final REFINET Conference (at FIRM2017).
• The contribution to a scoping paper between FOX, USE-iT and REFINET to foster synergy between the 3 projects during their execution.
• Participation to 2 review meetings (both organised in Brussels).
• Organisation of regular virtual technical meetings as required by the progress of the work in the various WPs.
• Continuous relationships between REFINET and the ECTP Infrastructure & Mobility Committee.

Community Network building activities (WP2):
• Reinforcement of the networking between all transport modes and the Construction sector.
• Update and expansion on the REFINET Network as well as REFINET group of experts;
• Contribution in organising thematic workshops;
• Dissemination of the project results at various events and further exchanges with stakeholders, and links with FOX & USE-iT, and Transport Platforms (ERTRAC, ALICE, etc.)
• Development of the final strategy plan for the consolidation and expansion of the REFINET network.

Defining vision and SIP activities (WP3):
• Elaboration of a comprehensive view of how should be the multimodal European transport infrastructure network of the future and the R&I demands to evolve the current European transport networks according this vision.
• Definition of the REFINET multi-modal transport infrastructure (RMMTI) model.
• Selection of the best practices that are already been developed.
• Collection and edition of a catalogue of available technologies for infrastructures.
• Definition of the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP).

Deploying SIP activities (WP4):
• Ensure impact and long-term sustainability of the results, especially in terms of preparing and launching the deployment of the SIP.
• Definition of the plan for the deployment of the SIP developed in WP3, especially the multi-modal transport infrastructure (RMMTI) model.
• Monitoring of R&I projects aligned to the REFINET SIP – i.e. identifying promising technologies developed at European level (such as in H2020, MOBILITY FOR GROWTH, etc.) which may contribute to the deployment of the SIP.
• Development of a platform (REFINET TI-TechMapper) for Geo-Clustering technological demands: i.e. group identified stakeholders and appropriate solutions targeting local/regional characteristics and needs into geographical nodes.
• Mobilising R&I programmes with the REFINET SIP to help deploy the SIP – with activities of identification and analysis of relevant programmes and of interaction with their managers to collaborate in the definition of research priorities for future calls will take place.

Communication and Dissemination activities (WP5):
• Main REFINET events: parallel sessions at the ECTP Conference (Brussels, November 17th, 2016), Workshops at the Transport Research Board International conferences (TRB2016 & TRB2017), REFINET final conference (Brussels, April 5th, 2017 - presenting its mains results during FIRM2017 (Brussels, April 5th,2017).
• REFINET newsletters: 5 newsletters over the duration of the project, with three newsletters have been published in the second year (May 2016, December 2016 and April 2017) and disseminated through the REFINET network.
• Collaboration with other networks: Network of National Construction Technology Platforms NTPs (through PTEC and other); Spanish Construction Technology Platform PTEC, ENCORD, ECTP (Infrastructure & Mobility Committee), FOX and USE-iT CSAs, Transport ETPS (ERTRAC, ERRAC, Waterborne, ACARE, ALICE…).
• Various dissemination activities broadly or with networks (ETNA2020 newsletter (http://www.transport-ncps.net EUROPEAN MARITIME DAY organized by ETNA2020, UK transport industry stakeholders, articles in FEHRL Infrastructures Research Magazine (FIRM) in July 2016 and January 2017, various conferences including TRA2016 and future TRA2018, etc.), etc.
• Broadcasting: REFINET Web site, LINKEDIN group, ECTP Web site and news, Continuously dissemination through partners’ corporative websites and social media, etc..

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

REFINET has contributed to:
- Start and stimulate the devlopment of the current network of REFINET stakeholders with around 838 experts from all transport modes within the transport infrastructure sector, increasing over the course of the project stakeholders presence and awareness of REFINET activities.
- the development of thefollowing outcomes:
1. A multi-modal transport infrastructure model - offering a generic simple vision that can be shared by all transport stakeholders and research related organisations, in a non transport-mode specific model that should be a living reference for the establishment of objectives and sustained criteria for defining the design and operation specification of infrastructure projects in Europe;
2. A Collection of Best Practices relying on a taxonomy of such use-cases and reference practices in design, construction and maintenance of transport infrastructures that have already been deployed in practice;
3. A Catalogue of technologies for transport infrastructure, relying on a taxonomy framework that provides a mean to capture, classify and monitor currently available and emerging technologies;
4. A Vision for the European transport infrastructure network of teh future and the consequent R&I demands to evolve the current European transport networks according to this vision;
5. A Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) with prioritised R&I (Research & Innovation) actions, recommendations and guidelines - containing specific actions and initiatives at different levels which must be taken to design, maintain and operate European transport infrastructures, and cooperation between all stakeholders (transport modes & infrastructures);
6. A framework for monitoring R&I projects – all projects being developed in Europe (H2020 MOBILITY FOR GROWTH – Infrastructure calls, INFRAVATION, national R&I…) being analysed in order to assess their alignment with the REFINET Vision;
7. A TI-TechMapper for technological demands, as a backbone of geographical nodes grouping both interested stakeholders and appropriate solutions targeting local or regional characteristics and needs from several points of view (technological, geographical, socio-economical, regulatory, political);
8. A set of Recommendations for mobilizing R&I programs and ESIF: REFINET has analysed the different European, national and regional initiatives that could support the deployment of the SIP.

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