Transport Research Knowledge Centre- FAQs

FAQs

Browse the list of FAQs below. If you do not find the answer to your question below, please contact the TRKC Helpdesk

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Table of contents

General questions

What is the Transport Research Knowledge Centre?

The Transport Research Knowledge Centre (TRKC) is a web-based information portal which provides you with:

a directory of research programmes;
information about ongoing and completed transport research projects;
thematic analysis of transport research results and their policy implications;
information about transport events;
a newsletter service with new information on this site and transport events;
publications highlighting transport research results in different policy contexts;
link search portal of relevant transport contacts linking to their websites.

The aim is to illustrate how transport research programmes and projects help to develop guidelines and innovative tools to support the European transport policy for sustainable mobility. Furthermore the TRKC serves as a help to find information about projects, programmes and policy implications, regardless if you are a researcher, policy-maker or transport stakeholder.

Members of the TRKC consortium:

GOPA-Cartermill SA, Belgium (Project Co-ordinator);
Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH (IABG), Germany;
Egis Mobilité SA, France;
Università di Roma - La Sapienza, Dipartimento Idraulica Trasporti e Strade (DITS), Italy;
University of Leeds, Institute of Transport Studies (ITS), United Kingdom;
CDV (Transport Research Centre), Czech Republic.

In addition to the partners, the project includes a network of organisations from countries not covered by the main partners (to enable full Europe-wide coverage), which will be subcontracted - if needed - for the sourcing and collection of national transport research data.

How is the information collection and analysis done?

Information on European projects and programmes is collected by the partners of the TRKC consortium, with the help of programme managers and research project co-ordinators.

The TRKC consortium collects information about both European and national projects covering 32 countries (EU 27 + Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Turkey and Croatia). The information covers both intermediate project results, as well as final results.

Once research projects start, TRKC collects information about the projects. This is done through a consistent and harmonised data collection tool, which has been developed by the project. The tool has been validated by the European Commission and an Advisory Group of national transport representatives. It consists of two tailor-made reporting elements, which cover:

programmes or significant sub-programmes (or significant sub-programmes);
projects: data on projects is collected in one single form at various stages of a project (project start, interim results and final results after a research project has been completed, including the project's own Final Report).

Project coordinators are invited to submit information about their own projects via the project form of the data collection tool. This should be done at the beginning of a project and when a project is successfully completed. Any major interim results can also be reported.

Once a project is successfully completed and the TRKC has received the project's results from the project coordinator, or has collected these from other public sources, it analyses the results of the project. This analysis contributes to a number of dedicated thematic overviews of transport policy. The projects are then divided into a number of thematic areas, to facilitate searching and filtering of the information database. These themes were identified following an in-depth market research, user testing and final validation by the TRKC.

What is meant by 'Transport Research'?

Transport is the means by which a person or material of any kind is passed from its point of origin to point of destination, comprising users, vehicles, infrastructure, transport system, the interaction of users, vehicles and infrastructure, the impacts of transport and relevant tools.

Research is creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications.

Transport research comprises studies, technical development and demonstrations concerning passenger or freight transport by any mode, or a combination of modes. It does not however include projects dealing with implementation or construction (unless such projects also include a significant research element).

What is the European Research Area?

The European Research Area (ERA) was launched at the Lisbon European Council in March 2000. It has rapidly become the central pillar of EU activities in the field of research, and the reference framework for European research policy issues. ERA objectives include improved co-ordination of national research activities between and in member states. The aim is to create a European research policy and an 'internal market in research'.

The ERA comprises all EU Member States, Accession Countries and other associated states (e.g. Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, etc).

For further information, see http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/i23010.htm.

What is meant by 'Programme' and 'Project'?

There is no clear 'official' distinction between the two. A large project with several sub-projects could perhaps be seen as a programme.

However, for the purposes of TRKC, a programme can be:

a formal grouping of projects, funded by the same organisation (e.g. a ministry). It can also be a group of organisations, with a common overarching objective and, usually, a similar funding structure; or
an 'informal' grouping of projects funded by the same organisation. It can also be a group of organisations, which are not part of an official programme but nevertheless have similar objectives and funding structures - this can include internal programmes of research institutes, etc.

Note that some programmes covered include aspects unrelated to transport. This is for instance the case for some national programmes with a wide scope that may deal with several themes at once. It can also be a programme related to another theme (e.g. the environment, health or land-use) taht may include some transport-related projects. Such programmes are included in the Knowledge Centre, but a focus is given to their transport content.

A project is an action that produces results, which may be part of a formal or 'informal' programme, and is either carried out internally by the funding organisation or is carried out by a contractor or consortium. A large project may have several sub-projects.

The key difference between a programme and a project is that a programme does not in itself produce results (although it may bring together the results of its constituent projects). Rather, a programme is essentially a structure or mechanism under which research projects are awarded, funded and managed.

Using the Knowledge Centre

How can I receive regular updates about the TRKC website?

You can subscribe to our newsletter and receive updates and information about the TRKC website and upcoming transport events.

Please note that the subscription information provided will not be used for any other purpose than for transport research dissemination by the TRKC project (see also our privacy statement for more information). You can unsubscribe at any time.

Are the TRKC and associated services for free?

Yes. All information services provided by TRKC are free of charge. For the printed brochures, leaflets and compendia, reproduction of all documents is authorised provided that the source is acknowledged.

How is project-related information categorised?

Projects and results, which are included in the Projects & Analysis section of this website, emerge from transport research programmes funded at EU, national and international levels.

To facilitate searching and filtering of information, projects have been categorised according to a multi-dimensional thematic structure which was designed by the project team following in-depth market research, user testing and final validation by the European Commission.

This has resulted in a layered structure of 30 transport themes broken down as follows:

1. Sector:

Passenger or freight

2. Geographic:

Urban
Rural
Regional
Long-distance
EU Accession Issues

3.Modes:

Air
Rail
Road (incl. walking and cycling)
Waterborne
Innovative modes
Intermodal

4. Policy objectives

Economic Aspects
Efficiency
Equity and Accessibility
Environmental Aspects
Safety and Security
User Aspects

5. Tools:

Decision-support Tools
Financing Tools
Information & Awareness
Infrastructure Provision (incl. TENs)
Integration and policy development
Intelligent Transport Systems
Regulation/Deregulation
Land-Use Planning
Transport Management
Pricing & Taxation
Vehicle Technology

Each project / result is categorised at least by one mode and up to five other dimensions best describing the objectives and final achievements of the project. A key theme is also attributed to facilitate searching and analysis of project data.

How do I search content on the Knowledge Centre site?

As internet is a flexible tool there are several ways to search the website depending on user preferences.

1. Free text search across entire site

You can search across the entire site by entering any search term (even a project acronym) or string of terms (e.g. 'mobility' or 'sustainable mobility') in the box on the top-right corner of the website. You will receive a search results' page including all entries where this term occurs on the site. The results are presented in lists (maximum 50 entries per page) which can be printed and sorted in ascending or descending order by clicking on date added, content type, title and origin.

2. Advanced search

This also allows users to search across the entire site using the free text facility but allows searching by more search criteria. By default the search is conducted in ALL database entries but it can be restricted by expanding the content type options and selecting the specific sections of the website. Users can also limit their search by requesting to find terms appearing only in the 'title' or only in the other 'text' fields (i.e. 'all' except 'title').

The search can be further refined by limiting the range to items published within a given period (depending on publication date).

In addition, the 'origin' component, which is common to all web sections (programmes, projects, links and events) allows to filter items related to a European or international origin but also a specific country (all 30 countries belonging to the European Research Area).

If you want to filter out project information on a thematic basis you can also select the mode of transport and other transport categories. (See also FAQ 'How can I search for projects across multiple transport categories?')

3. Search within specific menu sections:

Specific search and browse facilities are also available from menu sections Programmes, Projects & Analysis and Links.

Programmes can be further browsed by country and by organisation responsible for funding.
Projects can be browsed by themes, funding origin or by partner.
Links can be browsed according to category (e.g. EU/international institutions, programmes, networks and fora etc.), origin and to mode (when relevant).

In addition, events, glossary and FAQs can all be searched using the free text facility available from their respective menu entries and according to their appropriate categories:

by country and date for events;
alphabetically for glossary entries; and
general questions, using the site and submitting information for the FAQs.

How can I search for projects across multiple transport categories?

As mentioned in the FAQ 'How is project-related information categorised?' all projects have been labelled according to a multi-dimensional thematic structure consisting of 30 themes broken down according to the following top categories:

sector,
geographic area,
mode,
policy objectives, and
tools.

Each project / result is categorised at least by one mode and up to five other themes best describing the objectives and final achievements of the project. A key theme is also attributed to facilitate searching and analysis of project data.

Using the Advanced Search facility by mode and other transport categories will therefore allow you to search for projects according to a combination of themes and categories as follows:

selecting one theme in several top categories:
e.g. road (mode) + safety & security (policy objectives)
--> all road AND safety projects which have these categories combined;
e.g. freight (sector) + efficiency (policy objectives) + decision-support tools (tools)
--> all freight AND efficiency AND decision-support tools projects which have these categories combined.
selecting one theme from one top category combined with several themes within a different top category:
e.g. waterborne (mode) + environmental aspects (policy objectives) + user aspects (policy objectives)
--> all waterborne AND environmental aspects projects which have these categories combined; OR
--> all waterborne AND user aspects projects which have these categories combined; OR
--> all waterborne AND environmental aspects AND user aspects which have these categories combined.
selecting several themes within one top category:
e.g. rail (mode) + intermodal (mode)
--> all rail OR intermodal projects
e.g. financing tools (tools) + infrastructure provision (tools)
--> all financing tools OR infrastructure provision projects.

Option 1 will provide you with the most restricted list of projects.

In all cases, you can also use in addition the 'free text search' box to further restrict your search.

How do I find out about calls for tender or search for partners?

The Transport Research Knowledge Centre does not provide this type of information. It is a dissemination action, concerned only with results and analysis of ongoing or finished projects and programmes. However, this site does provide information on major national programmes such as funding conditions, websites and contact details.

For further information on Calls for Proposals in the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme, or on searching for partners, it is recommended to visit the CORDIS website.

Where can I find out more?

Overview information on the main projects and programmes are included in the relevant project and programme profiles. For further information on any of these, we recommend you contact directly the contact person given at the end of the profile, or visit the website if there is one.

For more general queries, please contact the helpdesk directly from this website. Enquiries received in English or French will receive a response, or at least an acknowledgement stating who is dealing with the enquiry, within one working day. Enquiries in other languages may take slightly longer to respond to in some cases, but the project will make every effort to reply rapidly and effectively to any enquiry, in the language in which it is made.

Submitting information for publication

How can I include information on my project/programme on this website?

As the TRKC project has resources to analyse only a selection of projects and programmes, we welcome additional inputs from programme and project managers. To submit information:

You can use our online data collection tool. Filling in information will require that you sign up to our secure extranet. You will have to register with a user name and you will receive a password before you can log in and enter your information.
You can use a Project Word form that can be downloaded from this website and then sent to the TRKC Programme Analysis Group (PAAG) at electronically via this website.

The submitted information will then be checked by the relevant project partner or national sub-contractor, who will get back to you if there are any comments or questions.

How can I correct or improve information on a project or programme?

We welcome your feedback and questions

Please note that the Transport Research Knowledge Centre is operated by the TRKC consortium (a private consortium) on behalf of the European Commission. It only deals with questions regarding information on ongoing or completed projects.

For any enquiry or advice related to project proposals, funding requests, calls for proposals, etc. please go to the CORDIS website, or contact the CORDIS helpdesk (tel: +352 26 64 801, fax: +352 26 64 93 80, e-mail: ).

Can I add a link to the Knowledge Centre's links section?

Yes, please submit a link with the form provided. We are always glad to receive more links, and only with your help can we expect to reasonably cover most of the worthwhile links out there. We do, however, reserve the right to use any links sent to us.

Can I submit event information on the TRKC site?

Yes, please submit an event with the form provided and the information will be considered by the Webmaster for publication. Please note that only transport-related events will be published on the TRKC website.