Decision Support Tools - Thematic Research Summary - Transport ...

• The private sector can offer particular benefits in the financing and procurement ofnew infrastructure, but it will be important to ensure that such infrastructure iscommissioned and designed in ways which satisfy public policy objectives.• An important element of private sector involvement in investment and serviceoperation is the sharing of risks between private and public sector. A greaterunderstanding is needed of the effectiveness of different types of contract with theprivate sector.• In specifying the regulatory framework, it is important to avoid structures which areunduly authoritarian and which create unnecessary distortions in the free operationof the transport market.4.4 Sub-theme 3: Project and policy evaluation methodologies4.4.1 BackgroundResearch reported in the former Thematic Research Summary on DSTs (EXTR@Web,2006) performed an assessment of existing evaluation methodologies for projects andpolicies and developed a framework for the integration of different policy and projectevaluation methodologies. This research has also created new methodologies for theevaluation of both the socio-economic development impacts and the indirect and networkeffects of transport policies and investment projects. Finally, research has focused ondeveloping methodologies for assessing the efficiency of road safety measures, and forassessing ITS.4.4.2 Research objectivesA first group of objectives has focused on issues concerning large infrastructure projects.More specifically, issues on ex-post evaluation of large infrastructure projects have beenexplored (EVA-TREN, 2008), a scientifically sound approach to the funding of largetransport infrastructure investments in the EU has been developed (FUNDING, 2007), anda set of harmonised guidelines for project assessment and transport costing at EU levelhas been produced (HEATCO, 2006). Research has been motivated by the fact that, todate, work has mainly dealt with ex-ante appraisal of the impacts of large transport andenergy infrastructure projects, while ex-post evaluation issues have been neglected. Inaddition, finding investments to fund large transport infrastructure projects is of parituclarconcern to the EU (CEC, 2001). Research has also developed a common approach forThematic Research Summary: “Decision Support Tools” Page: 43 of 74Transport Research Knowledge Centre