the value of good market research as the bedrock of a successful infrastructure project
TRANSCRIPT
The Value of Good Market
Research as the Bedrock of a Successful
Infrastructure Project
Good Market Research
An Anglo Polish Production!
Agnieszka Lukasiewicz MSc, Senior Specialist in Management Systems and Telematics Division, Road & Bridge Research Institute, Poland
Tony Francis FCIT, Project Sponsor, Department for Transport, United Kingdom
Good Market Research
Why discuss this issue?
Projects are for life and a purpose, not just the construction period
Why a joint presentation?
People and trade ignore national boundaries
Good Market Research
The issues described are equally applicable to all modes of transport
Whether it be for: Road - Rail - Water or Air
And the infrastructure
Good Market Research
What kind of information? Research process Collecting data – different methods Pan-European routes - process of
harmonisation and standardisation of European travel survey research
Proper data (not too wide, not too narrow, well analysed) – basis of decision making process
Good Market Research
Environ-ment
protection
Saving money, energy
Stakehol-ders
satisfaction
Defining Market Research
Systematic, design collection, analysis and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation, facing the company*
Travel surveys exist in the wider world of marketing research
*Kotler P., Marketing
Research Process
Make the
decision
Defining Good Information
In general, raw data that is: (1) verified as being accurate and timely, (2) specific and organised for a purpose, (3) presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance, and (4) leads to increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty.
The value of information lies solely in its ability to affect behaviour, decisions, or outcomes. A piece of information is considered valueless if, after receiving it, things remain unchanged.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/information.html
What kind of information is collected?
What kind of information do we need?- Vehicle-based survey (households
cars, trucks)Households car ownership and useLight commercial vehicles (LCVs)Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs)
- In every European country, there are different scopes & ways of collecting data
Applicability of Minimum Question Specification
Topic Category Topic Category
Household Location VehicleBody type
Type of building Year of productionSize Ownership of vehicleRelationships Use of vehicleIncome Fuel used in vehicleNo of vehicles Activity Start time
Housing tenure Activity of purposePersonal Gender Location
Year of birthMeans of travel, mode sequence
Paid jobs Group sizeJob classification Group membershipDriving licence Cost (inc. parking)Non-mobilityEducation levelHandicap (disability)
Race Stopher P (et al.) Travel Surveys Method - quality and future directions
Collecting information
Desk top research Questionnaires Web Sites GPS/GPRS terminals And others
National Travel Surveys (COST 804)
Good Market Research
Intelligence wins battles – both military and business.
And this applies to projects. Especially big ones! But intelligence needs to be accurate,
consistent in gathering and interpretation. And standardisation across the whole
activity.
Good Market Research
Lessons from the United Kingdom
Not so good examples! - Traffic data designed for road building
but of no value to revive public transport
- BoE interest rates- Light rail schemes making better use
of poorly used conventional rail lines but had little business potential
Medway Metro: good idea but….!
Good Market Research
Better examples!
- Great Western Main Line
Growth clearly identified although needs constantly updating
- Managed Motorways
Making better use of the existing network
Great Western Main Line
Inter City CommuterFreight
•
Managed Motorways
Travel Survey Research – what for?
Modelling travel behaviour Everyday route Business trips Holidays.
Estimating future trends
Planning of infrastructure
Satisfy stakeholders
Evaluation of the effectiveness of different transportation investments
Pan-European routes – Pan-European research problems
Neighbouring countries data is often incomparable Coordinating international projects a problem, No standards in planning, scope, collecting and analysis, Negative influence on decision making.
Cost 804 – trial of harmonisation and archiving comparativeness of data on the European level
In UK local authorities clubbing together
to manage data collection
“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense”.Gertrude Stein
Decision making - examples
Data collected may be used to support or oppose planning applications
Assisting traffic or transportation engineers with design aspects
Evaluation of highway schemes Planning the road network matrix
All above are tools for safety, mobility, comfort of end users
“Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult.”Napoleon
For whom? (target groups)
Infrastructure funding bodies
PPP consortia (highways, tunnels, railways)
Freight and passenger transport operators
Good Market Research
Thank you for listening
Do you have any questions?
Contact details -
Tony Francis
Project Sponsor, Department
for Transport, United Kingdom
Agnieszka Lukasiewicz
Road & Bridge Research Institute, Poland