Directions of contemporary transport research worldwide – part 2
The article attempts to define the directions and types of transport research conducted recently, focusing on several geographical and thematic areas, namely the research programs of the European Union, the United States, and Japan. It also refers to the assessment of research fields in a broad international circle based on the results of research presented at the World Conference on Transport Research.
The analysis of the directions of contemporary transport research should begin with defining the perspective and classification of this research. The perception of priorities, research results, their evolution, etc., largely depends on this perspective. Transport research is carried out at various levels (regional, national, or international), as individual or team research, and concerns diverse issues that can be most generally considered through the prism of engineering or economics. Another perspective for analyzing transport research concerns the type of research (international research programs and projects, national/governmental programs, statutory research of scientific units/transport institutes, own projects of higher education institutions, promotional works, for example, doctoral or habilitation theses, research works commissioned by the industrial sector, and others). There are also different ways of publishing research results (books, articles, papers at international conferences, reports, and others). The type of research usually indicates the sources of its funding, which can be international institutions, the government or its agencies, local governments and regional authorities, scientific institutes, higher education institutions, or enterprises or their associations. A diverse research scope, goals, and research teams obviously mean the use of various research methods and tools. Nowadays, technical research is largely the domain of private research institutions – most often funded by large corporations producing vehicles, aircraft, or fuels. On the other hand, economic research is in most cases funded from public sources. General criteria for the classification of transport research are presented in Figure 1.
Transport research in the EU
Research and development constitute an important element of European economic policy, the dynamically developing innovation policy, and transport policy. Transport research in the EU is carried out through framework programs, projects commissioned by EU institutions, or joint projects within the European Research Area, including those directly related to the industrial sector. The dimension of transport research undertaken in the European Union is presented in Figure 2.
Framework programs, implemented since the mid-1980s, concern various issues related to the development of the sector in technical, economic, and social terms in the sphere of transport. Currently, applications for the seventh framework program are being submitted. An interesting proposal of the EU is the creation of the European Research Area, which aims to ensure coherence and increase the impact of scientific research in Europe. Among the fundamental challenges it is to meet, one should mention: better use of resources and scientific facilities at the European level, greater dynamics of private investment in research and development, increased mobility of researchers, as well as ensuring conditions more conducive to a research space of “common values”.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2/2008.