Austroads: Transport Research and Trends

The transport sector, particularly in road network operations and management, is experiencing a period of significant and rapid change globally. This disruption is directly affecting how people and industry access, navigate and use transport and road networks. Expectations around transport, travel needs and user behaviour are shifting.

More broadly, these changes are contributing to the growing momentum to improve how we live and work, and how our cities function and evolve. As a result, the capabilities needed to manage and operate transport networks are also changing quickly.

The changes within the sector can be grouped into five key areas:

• network safety
• technological advancements
• environmental sustainability and climate change
• shifting network demands
• evolving customer and stakeholder expectations

In response, Austroads has commissioned the Road Manager Operations Capability Framework, supported by a research report. Together, these outline how road managers can effectively respond to emerging trends in transport operations.

The framework identifies four core capabilities: communication, stakeholder engagement, leadership and change management. It also outlines four operational capabilities: network management, incident and event management, system management, and data and insights. Each capability is supported by a set of skills mapped against a proficiency matrix.

The webinar, presented by Richard Boggon and Thomas D’Arcy, explores the trends shaping the future of road network operations. It also provides a detailed overview of the capability framework, the skills and proficiencies it defines, and how it can be applied and adopted within the sector.