Successful transport decision-making - Osmose

FS 59: Technical working party
Vol 2 - Table of Contents
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T17
What is a technical working party?
A technical working party is a meeting of technical
professionals, organised to discuss technical issues or provide
direction for a particular project (steering committee) or provide
on-going technical advice on specific issues (advisory
committee). A working party is typically composed of staff from
a local authority, elected officials and community
representatives and is particularly useful for guiding projects in
their development, identifying issues/concerns or directing
long-term targeted strategies.
The technical working group encourages group-work between
participants and is usually structured on a democratic basis
with all representatives having equal status.
Key features of a technical working
party
A technical working party has the following basic features:
Interested and affected parties and groups from within a
geographical area and/or sector are represented;
The technical meetings are held weekly, monthly or yearly;
Minutes and a record of the discussions, debates or
findings are kept throughout a technical working meeting;
Agreement on specific issues is usually sought, but not
essential; and
A technical working party is often assigned an important
role in the decision-making process.
Structure of a technical working
Party meeting
Co-ordinator
Support and direction for
Technical Working Party
instructs
the chair
Chair
Facilitates the Technical Working
Party meeting
Findings fed
back to the
co-ordinator
Participants
Encouraged to discuss issues and
concerns
When to use a technical working
party?
A technical working party may be required for any project which
requires specific inputs or advice from individuals who are
experienced or knowledgeable about specific issues, problems
or techniques.
NOTES
Technical working parties should be set up early in a transport
related project and all members must be clearly briefed on their
responsibilities. Meetings may be required throughout the
decision-making process, however, their input is likely to be
most critical at the option generation stages. Their experience
and knowledge will be crucial in identifying appropriate and
viable ideas and ‘solutions’ for the project, as well as identifying
potential pitfalls with suggested options. Technical working
parties can play an important role in ensuring decision makers
are fully informed of technical issues relevant to the project and
decision-making.
A group of experts meeting to discuss complex transport issues.
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