Identifying national transport needs - executive summary

1. In September 2004, Faber Maunsell and Ecotec Research and Consulting were appointed by the Department for Transport to undertake a study entitled "Planning for National Transport Infrastructure; A Framework for Identifying and Assessing National Transport Needs and Priorities".
2. This study built upon earlier work funded by the Regional Development Agencies, which sought to determine a methodology, with discrete criteria, by which transport infrastructure of national economic importance could be identified and prioritised.
3. The current study was required to enhance the evolving methodology by making it more robust whilst also capturing environmental and social considerations in addition to economic.
4. The proposed methodology comprises four stages:

Stage 1: Objectives and Outcomes

This first stage sets out the specific problem or objective which is being addressed, the consequences of not taking action and the desired outcome from any actions to be taken. It then describes the alternative proposals or options by which this outcome might be achieved and further describes the proposal which is the subject of that particular appraisal.

This emphasises the very basic point, therefore that before any testing work can actually begin, there needs to be a coherent argument as to why the infrastructure or policy is being considered in the first place and what it is actually trying to achieve.

Stage 2: Primary Framework

In Stage 2, the detailed proposal is tested within a framework which includes economic, social and environmental objectives. A relatively simple way of scoring is also used to help profile the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal.

Stage 3: Secondary Framework

In response to concerns that the primary framework might not adequately address the practicality or deliverability of a scheme, a secondary framework has been developed which fulfils that function. It does so by assessing the proposal against three overarching tests of feasibility, effectiveness and acceptability. In other words, these tests ask the questions "can it be done?", "is it worth doing?" and "will it be allowed to be done?"

Stage 4: Summary Table

Finally, in Stage 4, there is a Summary Table which draws together the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal. This uses the scoring to draw out any strong features in the appraisal and referring to issues of deliverability if this is perceived as an issue.

5. The methodology concepts and possible applications were reviewed in a consultation procedure with institutional stakeholders in four " super-regions".
6. The tool has been designed to be used at national level and could be used, for example, by the Department for Transport in providing advice to Ministers on national transport programmes, or on proposals developed by cross-regional groupings such as the Northern Way
7. Appropriately modified, it is also potentially valuable at regional and local level, to be used, for example, in work on regional funding allocations or Local Transport Plans. Experience of use of the Framework in these fields would be helpful in indicating areas where the methodology may be developed or need further refinement.