IRF at the 13th Session of the Committee on Innovation, Competitiveness and Public-Private Partnerships (CICPPP)
The International Road Federation (IRF Geneva) was pleased to participate in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) 13th Session of the Committee on Innovation, Competitiveness and Public-Private Partnerships (CICPPP) from 25th to 27th March 2019 in Palais des Nations, Geneva.
Led by James Stewart, the Vice Chair and the Head of Brexit and Industrial Strategy at KPMG UK and Stefano Firpo, the Head of Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Economics of the Italian Republic, the 13th Session of the CICPPP focused on the innovation and competitiveness policies and the assessment and evaluation of sustainable development impact of innovation policies and PPP projects in an attempt to track the progress toward the SDGs.
Along with the UNECE who introduced the latest results from its work on innovation policy assessments and the People-First PPP Impact Assessment Tool, Christel Alvergne, the Regional Advisor at the United Nations Capital Development Fund and Miquel Rodriguez, the Manager at the Specialist Centre on PPPs in Smart and Sustainable Cities along with other experts suggested five constructive key points in the development of assessment tools for PPP impact:
- PPPs must be clearly recognized as the game changer in the funding of domestic development;
- The simplicity of the tools should be emphasized especially in regards to data collection and data access as the reliability may be lowered as the access to the tools and their data is exclusively reserved for experts, and the assessment should be accessible for the public to use and understand;
- Transparency is needed in data collection and processing in order to validate the tool
- PPPs go beyond the GDP and aim at making the world wealthier and healthier; and
- The simplification and minimization of the assessment tools should be carefully conducted.
In addition to the key points, Goran Marklund, the Deputy Director General at Vinnova, suggested five other points in regards to the assessment:
- Learning is important for the assessment of policies;
- A systematic perspective of innovation is essential;
- We should focus on sustainable development;
- We should never underestimate the significance of system transformation programs;
- We should acknowledge the importance of the innovation country review by the OECD.
Representatives from the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) introduced their latest research on the impact of PPPs on gender equality concluding that the current PPPs supported by donors and financial institutions deviate from the governments’ commitments under the SDGs to promote gender equality. The representatives pointed out the insufficient amount of representation of women in the PPPs and in the international arena in general and called upon for more representation. In addition to this research, speakers introduced the review of the Innovation for Sustainable Development of Belarus recognizing the latest efforts and results of the country in its innovative and transformative actions. By the end of 26 March 2019, the Session revised and adopted the Decision 2019 4b. 5/6/7/9 of the Implementation of the Program of Work.
The 13th Session of the CICPPP demonstrates the determination and persistence of the international arena in delivering the transformation of funding mode for a better future. In line with the United Nations, the IRF Geneva will continue to commit itself in sustaining the strategic collaboration with its partners from public and private sectors in constructing together the blueprint of the future of PPPs in pursuit of moving forward our progress toward the SDGs.
LEARN Project: Building capacity on data in Tanzania and Senegal
Context
Improving road safety is a key development priority for Africa. Despite comparatively low motorisation levels, the continent witnesses the world’s highest rate of road traffic fatalities, with approximately 26.6 deaths per 100,000 population (WHO 2018). The importance and need for better road safety data has been highlighted in United Nations, African Union and other multilateral resolutions. The latest Road Safety Resolution approved by the UN General Assembly in April 2018, specifically recognises the importance of capacity building in this field. In recent discussions surrounding the creation of an African Road Safety Observatory, African governments further recognise that coordinated efforts are necessary to address the significant need for better data.
About LEARN
LEARN is a joint initiative of the International Road Federation (Geneva) and the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety made possible thanks to the support of the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme. The joint effort aims at enhancing the knowledge, skills and actions of a selected group of road safety professionals and stakeholders via hands-on trainings in two African countries: Tanzania and Senegal. While building their data-related knowledge and skills during a three-day workshop to be hosted both in Tanzania and in Senegal, participants will familiarise themselves with a range of data tools and techniques that can help improve the quality of their work.
The Global Alliance has conducted over the past two years a series of capacity building initiatives specifically tailored to NGOs working in road safety around the world. The action plans developed by the NGOs attending the training have led to measurable impacts including national legislation change in Tunisia and the Philippines. On the other side, the IRF has been delivering trainings on data over the past 2 decades. The effectiveness of these trainings is reflected and measured with the increased quality and quantity of data harvest annually via the IRF World Road Statistics questionnaire.
“The project will demonstrate the added value of working together, in a systemic way and with the support of data. We aim at building a model of working that can be replicated in other African countries and elsewhere” says Susanna Zammataro, IRF Director General. “Tanzania and Senegal were deliberately chosen as they are representative of two different cultural and linguistic regions. Training resources in French are currently limited, and we believe this project will further enable scaling up road safety activities and reach in francophone Africa as well”, she continues.
For more information contact: info@irfnet.ch
IRF and ASECAP strengthen collaboration and sign an MoU in Brussels
The 12th ASECAP Annual Road Safety Conference organised at the European Parliament in Brussels on 18th March set the scene for the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the International Road Federation (Geneva, Switzerland) and the European Association of Operators of Toll Road Infrastructures (ASECAP) aiming at further strengthening the collaboration between the two organisations.
Signed by Anouar Benazzouz, Vice President of IRF, Susanna Zammataro, Director General of IRF, Bill Halkias, President of ASECAP and Kallistratos Dionellis, Secretary General of ASECAP,the MoU sets the framework for a reinforced collaboration that will facilitate synergies between the two organisations and their respective members.
"Road Safety is indeed one of the key issues we will be working on with IRF but definitively not the only one. Infrastructure financing, intelligent transport systems (ITS), traffic and infrastructure management and mobility issues at large are also some of the other items we will be digging into with IRF", says Bill Halkias.
"We have always strongly believed in the power of collaborations and that's why we are delighted to open up a new chapter in our collaboration with ASECAP with the signature of this MoU. Technology is set to transform and impact our sector and society in ways we cannot fully predict but must be prepared to manage. It is only by working together that we will be able to deliver the desired outcomes whether on road safety or overall delivery on the sustainable development goals (SDGs)" comments Anouar Benazzouz.
The 12th ASECAP Road Safety Conference held at the European Parliament in Brussels focused specifically on "Distraction" and saw the intervention of Matthew Baldwin, Deputy Director General DG Move and European Coordinator for Road Safety (European Commission) together with key other stakeholders from the road infrastructure and the automotive sector.
SWARCO Relaunches Website
A new internet presence right in time for the company’s 50th anniversary.
A crucial project within SWARCO’s strategic marketing programs has culminated in the relaunch of the website. In August 2017, a team of communication and marketing colleagues from different SWARCO companies started to work in detail on creating a new look of www.swarco.com. Richard Neumann, SWARCO AG’s Head of Communication and Marketing, knows the reasons for dealing with this topic, “Our internet presence created ten years ago was no longer up-to-date, both technically and content wise. During the past eighteen months SWARCO has defined a new Corporate Policy and Brand Strategy including a new claim: SWARCO | The Better Way. Every Day. All these aspects have consequences on how we present us via our communication channels, the website being probably the most important one.“
One brand page instead of numerous internet presences
The greatest change, which is a consequence of the group’s brand strategy pushing for the umbrella brand SWARCO, is that there is now only one brand website under www.swarco.com and no more individual company websites. “There is a clear focus on our solution capabilities, however without neglecting the numerous internationally successful SWARCO products in the different market sectors”, adds Neumann. Apart from German and English, the website will be available in a dozen of languages in the near future.
Technologically up-to-date
The new site has been developed taking into account a user-friendly content management system, a fresh graphic look and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) aspects. A lot of progress has also been made in SWARCO’s Employer Branding activities, presenting the company as an attractive employer who is constantly looking for the best heads in the industry.
Anniversary year
The new internet presence went live at the beginning of February and comes right in time for SWARCO’s anniversary year. It was 50 years ago in May 1969 when Manfred Swarovski built his first factory in Austria, producing glass beads to make road markings retroreflective and laying the foundations for what is called SWARCO today. Over five decades the group has grown into a global leader in road safety and intelligent traffic management, present in 70 countries, employing 3800 people worldwide and generating revenues of almost 700 million Euros.
Federating Motorway concessionaires in Greece
The recent (2017) completion of Greece’s new network of interurban toll motorways has enabled HELLASTRON to take on an active role, both domestically and internationally.
Abroad, HELLASTRON has been actively participating in all ASECAP’s activities. The President of HELLASTRON, Mr. Bill Halkias, was elected President of ASECAP for the period 2018-2019 and the Greek Association has hosted ASECAP’s 2018 Marketing Event in Athens and will host the upcoming 47th ANNUAL ASECAP Days in Costa Navarino Messinia, Greece, in May 2019. At the same time, HELLASTRON and ASECAP met with European Union Commissioner Violeta Bulc’s cabinet to promote and to contribute to TISPOL’s Project EDWARD (European Day Without A Road Death), on Wednesday, September 19, 2018.
Commissioner Bulc commented on HELLASTRON’s initiative: “I am glad to see such an engaging and dedicated contribution of Greece to the third European Day without a Road Death (EDWARD) taking place this year on 19 September (2018) during the European Mobility Week. Thank you, Greece, and all involved!”
“I welcome this cross-sectoral initiative launched by ASECAP involving the Transport Ministry and the Greek Parliament. I am convinced that these common efforts will effectively raise awareness on the risks we face on all roads, and not only on motorways. Greece has made significant progress in road safety in the last decade, and initiatives of this kind can only bring us closer to the final objective: a day without a road death – the vision we should strive for every day, not just on 19 September (2018),” concluded the EU Commissioner in her message.
At home, the HELLASTRON network in the mainland is now almost complete. Selected new sections (the northern axis in Crete, extensions of Attica Tollway, Road Connections to the islands of Salamina and Lefkada or the Elefsina-Thiva motorway) are expected to add the finishing touches in the following years. Overall, the Association aims to ensure that the totality of Motorway Concessions in Greece follow the latest trends in technology, improve road safety, raise customer satisfaction and offer a seamless transition of travel from one motorway concession to the next.
A dedicated radio frequency for traffic announcements, virtual tunnel integration and real-time traffic information are prioritized due to their promising positive impact on road safety whereas toll interoperability, a unified traffic management centre and common traffic management procedures and practices are being actively pursued to achieve and maintain network cohesion and increased customer satisfaction.
Contributing to the safety, comfort and the environmental front, the latest trends in technology, such as cooperative systems (vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure), connected and − later − autonomous vehicles, electric or alternatively fuelled vehicles are being closely monitored by HELLASTRON in its continuing effort to catalyse and coordinate the incorporation of mature, carbon-neutral technologies into the network infrastructure.
On the path to mobility as a service and the future, HELLASTRON is closely cooperating with the academia and society. R&D programs and the industry’s corporate social responsibility agenda are top priorities and will continue to be so.
