Resources

People who work in New Zealand’s transport sector want evidence about the effectiveness of transport interventions around the world. This helps them decide which interventions are best for our cities, regions and communities. It can be difficult to find this evidence, and especially difficult to compare it, because evidence varies in quality, comes in many different types and covers a wide range of topics.

In this study, the researchers designed and built a prototype digital catalogue of evidence for transport interventions, which was reviewed by users. If implemented, transport practitioners could use this catalogue to search for evidence for transport interventions, based on their effectiveness, cost and relevance to New Zealand. The design for the catalogue draws from the best features of other relevant catalogues. It also considers what New Zealand transport practitioners and policymakers want, which includes comprehensive evidence on a wide range of topics.

As well as being a repository for evidence, the catalogue would make it easier to see gaps in current evidence. These gaps limit opportunities to improve the transport system, so revealing them enables them to be researched. The catalogue’s evidence standards should also lead to a higher quality of evidence being generated in future.

The review by users shows the prototype catalogue will be useful for a range of tasks, including responding to Official Information Act 1982 requests, designing transport interventions, making investment decisions and providing evidence to back up business cases. However, it will be challenging to ensure the catalogue contains comprehensive and diverse evidence and is adequately maintained and updated. The researchers recommend maintaining the catalogue’s broad scope, but prioritising content that meets the immediate needs of current users, so it remains affordable. They also recommend approaches for setting up the catalogue that will capture users’ interest and keep them engaged.

Keywords:

catalogue; design; evidence; interventions; prototype; transport

Authors:

Vivienne Ivory, WSP Research & Innovation, Wellington
Edgar Pacheco, WSP Research & Innovation, Wellington
Francene Thomas, WSP Research & Innovation, Wellington
Daniel Cooper, WSP Research & Innovation, Wellington
Louise Malcom, WSP Research & Innovation, Wellington
Suzanne Nugent, WSP, United Kingdom
Joel Burton, WSP Research & Innovation, Wellington