SPOTLIGHTS-TN - Supporting European Policy Makers: Assembling Information and Briding Models Towards a European Policy Decision-support System
Overview
Background & policy context:
Transport policy making processes are more and more complex. To support decision makers in this very demanding task, advanced tools and models are needed. Spotlights-TN is a scientific forum for European transport modellers to explore ways for making advanced transport models scientifically reliable, fully transparent to end-users, open and more integrated into policy-making processes.
Objectives:
The objective of SPOTLIGHTS-TN project was to carry out activities devoted to organise and support four different discussion lines, each one aiming to produce a new specific mechanism (procedure or tool) helping to make advanced transport models more accessible to decision-makers, so that they can make an effective use of them.
Outputs from closely related projects (e.g. ATOM, THINK-UP and TRANSTALK, among others) were included into the activities.
Methodology:
The work of the thematic network was centred around 4 workshops, each one in relation to a discussion line. Before the celebration of each workshop, an open electronic conference was organised.
Workshop1: Dcode-Quality control for modelling works. The goal of this discussing line was the development of a standard quality control guideline helping modellers to produce robust models and provide to end-users a security on the model scientific consistency and policy relevance (DCode). Dcode was proposed as standard mandatory annex to be included in modelling contracts between client institutions and modellers.
Workshop 2: Mdir-Directory of Models and Modellers. The goal of this discussion line was to develop clear, fair and harmonised information concerning advanced transport models. Resulting from the discussions, a first directory of models, useful for European policies, was produced (Mdir).
Workshop 3: GTF-Generalised transport data format allowing communication between models. The goal of this discussion line was exploring the interest and feasibility of adopting a generalised transport data format (GTF) as import/export process between advanced transport models. The work took the already existing GTF as starting point, and the final goal was reaching an overall agreement in relation to a generalised data model (GTF).
The Final Conference: "LTvisions- Strategies to get friendly and interactive access to advanced models". LTvisions goal was exploring new software and modelling solutions to improve model's usability. As a conclusion, a Long-Term assessment of the interest of alternative solutions was provided (LTVisions).
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