Case Studies

Case Study 3: Department for International Development (DFID) - Information Strategy for the Transport Sector

This analysis is based on a TRL review about the dissemination process of DFID funded transport research. According to this review, the objective of DFID's information strategy is to achieve greater impact in delivering affordable, safe and sustainable transport to target groups in developing countries. Therefore, action should positively influence implementation processes by informing policy makers, promoting cost effective solutions to service providers and managers, and raising awareness in users and communities of actions they can contribute.

Traditionally, DFID has been concerned almost exclusively with roads and road transport services; other modes (rail, air, ports, shipping) have not been included in their research base. The research has concentrated on road engineering issues (materials, design standards, maintenance organisation and programmes, etc.) which address how to construct roads and how they can be expected to perform. This has been accompanied by related issues such as planning and justification of roads and the safe management of traffic. These topics have expanded to include the economics and financing of roads provision, the organisational and institutional models for providing transport and a more fundamental understanding of travel behaviour and the needs of road users. These topics have been covered by different types of information, such as basic findings or outputs of a research project, the translation of project findings into guidelines, procedures and advice, and the development of training and educational material.

There are two target audiences that represent the direct users of this information. These are firstly the practising road engineers who design, build and maintain the road network; and secondly the policy and planning advisors who need to justify particular transport development programmes. At another level, there are the intermediate users of this information, who promote the use of the research findings amongst the recipient countries. These include donors, NGOs and private financiers involved in development. A third audience is the research community.

Table 1 illustrates the type of information and the target audience, according to DFID's information strategy.

In the cited review, TRL undertook an evaluation of the dissemination strategy of DFID's transport research. This evaluation identified the strengths and weakness of the strategy and proposed recommendations for its improvement. Amongst other points, it concluded that there is insufficient knowledge of whether the information needs of target audience are adequately meet and that it is difficult to maintain up to date information on key individuals in beneficiary organisations. Nevertheless, it stated that there is a Network of over 3,500 contacts that receive notification of publications and events and that the process of generation and dissemination of information is based on comprehensive statistics on the demand for particular publications types and topics by geographical area. Additionally, it was identified that there is an uneven distribution of information by topics and little impact to non-English speaking countries.

Some key issues can be concluded from this review:

• DFID's transport research has been traditionally focused on road transport and infrastructure addressing engineering issues.
  
• The key target audiences are road engineers, and policy and planning advisors.
  
• The information strategy is developed by a systematisation of research outputs, not by an evaluation of information needs.

The evaluation of effectiveness of DFID dissemination of information concluded that there is insufficient knowledge about the information needs of the target audience. Therefore, it is not possible to identify if the strategy is meeting the information needs of the target audience.

Table 1: Information Requirements of Transport Community

Target Audience	Research Findings	Guidance and Tools	Policy and Planning Lessons	Training Materials	General and Source Information
Road Transport Students	*	*	*	*	*
Research and Academic Institutions	*	*	*	*	*
Road Technicians		*		*	*
Road Engineers	*	*		*	*
Road Administrators			*	*	*
Transport Planners	*		*	*	*
Transport Service Providers	*		*		*
Transport Policy Advisers	*		*		*
Donors/NGOs - Technical	*	*	*	*	*
Donors/NGOs - Administrative			*		*
Cross-sectoral Interests	*		*		*
Civil Society/Community Groups		*	*	*	*
Education Services		*		*	*
Private Financiers			*		*

Source: TRL (Transport Research Laboratory)