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Including amendment dated November 2012

Including amendment dated November 2009

Guide for the Design, Management and Delivery of Pilots and Trials on the Highways Agency Network

This process provides a guide for the design, management and delivery of pilots and trials on the Highways Agency network when an innovation, whether a service, system or item/product, is proposed for consideration.

This guide has been developed through consultation with a range of practitioners involved in the delivery of pilots and trial and also draws on international best practise and experience.

Through the early consultations with practitioners it was clear that there are number of common issues that need to be addressed to ensure the successful delivery of a pilot or trial, whatever the size and scale of the pilot or trial being delivered.

The issues identified have been addressed through the development of the guide process. The guide is split into six different stages to reflect the activities and issues that need to be addressed through the life cycle of a pilot or trial. The guide process for the design, management, delivery and evaluation of pilots or trials is divided as follows:

• Stage 0 Feasibility: This stage is about establishing the potential benefits and impacts of undertaking a pilot or trial. This is addressed through consideration of a literature review, alternative option investigation, determination of possible impacts and effects on the current network, data collection issues, and outline cost benefit considerations. Appropriate approvals must be sought, using Form PT1 , before progressing to the next stage.

• Stage 1 Aims and Objectives: It is essential that the precise aims and objectives of the pilot scheme are determined. Through this stage all the potential user needs for the pilot will be identified, including for example the needs of the travelling public, the network operators and potential decision makers. These will be used to determine clear aims and objectives and the overall scope for the pilot.

• Stage 2 Innovation and Assessment Requirements: In this stage three parallel streams of work are conducted, a) to determine the functional and other requirements for the innovation, b) to determine the pilot or trials assessment methodology and the associated performance indicators and c) to define and select an appropriate location for the pilot. Whilst these three streams are carried out in the same stage, they are intrinsically linked and require continuous information exchange to ensure the effective delivery of the pilot.

• Stage 3 Implementation: Through this stage the pilot is procured, implemented and validated against the defined requirements. The collection of previously identified ‘before’ data would commence early through this stage.

• Stage 4 Commission and Assessment: Following the successful validation the pilot will be commissioned and formally accepted by the HA. Calibration would be carried out to ensure the performance of the innovation is optimised, leading to the assessment determining its overall impact and performance against the criteria defined within the requirements.

• Stage 5 Completion and Dissemination: The end point of a pilot or trial must be clearly defined to enable the effective hand over or decommissioning as appropriate. Through this stage the lessons learnt, good and bad, will be collated and disseminated this to the pilots stakeholders and others as appropriate.

The progression from one stage to a subsequent one is subject to the review of the continuing feasibility, attainability, viability, validity and impact of the pilot. A series of continuing activities need to be progressed through all stages of the pilot, these include:

• A - Project and Programme Management
• B - Stakeholder Management
• C - Procurement and Maintenance Strategy
• D - Risk Management

Within the guide process there is advice on the level and type of activities needed at each stage of the pilot. The guide also provides guidance on the type of issues that should be considered in moving forward with a pilot or trial. The guide has been developed to help practitioners involved in the delivery of both small and large pilots and trials. However, it is recognised the extent and depth of each end of stage review will be appropriate for the scale of the innovation under consideration. Through the use of the guide, The Agency will improve the overall design, management and delivery of pilots and trials on its network.