The conference programme was designed to contribute to the cohesive development of the European Research Area (ERA) in the field of roads and of road transport in general. The emphasis was laid on the definition of research needs coupled with a sound assessment of resources, with particular focus on closer integration of Europe's road research capacity. A well-thought distributed approach towards road research would respond better to local differences across Europe. An additional focus was on possible solutions to face the increasing growth of the road system in towns, cities and major highways.

The inclusion in the programme of strategic sessions promoted the generation of relevant knowledge and achievement of consensus on research priorities for the implementation of ERA. The involvement of non-research organisations in the session debates provided a wider perspective to research issues.

In addition, FeRRM 05 marked a shift from the academic type of conference to theme-oriented sessions hosted by flagship projects. Sessions were broadened out to correlated and linked projects. In doing so, knowledge was exchanged at the program level and the scope of the sessions was then expanded to cover a wider range of issues of interest to participants. This effectiveness of this approach was recognised at FeRRM 05 and it will be adopted for TRA 2006 conference.