Overview
On May 3rd 2005, more than 50 CEOs and Managing Directors from large Intermodal businesses launched the European Intermodal Research Advisory Council (EIRAC). EIRAC determined that a Strategic Intermodal Research Agenda 2020 (SIRA) for Intermodal Transport and its Implementation Plan (IP) were needed. These are the instruments to direct European and national resources to targeted research. The SIRA was published on December 14th 2005, and the IP was published on December 12th 2006. EIRAC has been very successful in its first two years of activity, being acknowledged by the European Commission as a major source of expertise and a reliable entity to deal with. The value of the EIRAC SIRA and IP has been recognised by different Directorates-General of the European Commission, and it is considered as a primary source of valuable input to the work programmes of FP7.
The EIRAC work will be continued in the next years, aiming at the following objectives:
- Stimulate the main public stakeholders and market players in the Intermodal and Logistics domain to invest into research;
- Strengthen the potential of research results to be endorsed and used by the market;
- Provide the assessment of these results, both before and after the execution of research, including the financial conditions needed to ensure the full exploitation of the innovation;
- Ensure that its work is communicated in a professional way to the non-EIRAC members or International Parties, so that they also can benefit from the work;
- Foster the participation of industrial SMEs in innovating and changing their mindset;
- Stimulate the implementation of indications contained in the Implementation Plan into national programmes of research, including the identification of needs for breakthrough technologies;
- Enhance the opportunities to participate to or observe EIRAC work;
- Stimulate the creation of Intermodal Advisory Councils or Technology Platforms at national level.
Funding
Results
- The new release of the Intermodal Strategic Research Agenda (SIRA)
EIRAC determined that a Strategic Intermodal Research Agenda 2010-2030+ for Intermodal Transport and its Implementation Roadmap were needed, being the instruments to direct European and national resources to targeted research, as they together could cover an important step towards the creation of a coordinated Intermodal research strategy. - The publication of the 'Intermodal transport handbook'
This 2010 handbook, was published as part of the EU funded EIRAC initiative in order to show how the intermodal transport industry has been making progress and successfully adapted to changing requirements and circumstances.
Strategy targets
2. Innovating for the future: technology and behaviour:
2.1. A European Transport Research and Innovation Policy.