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

These guidelines, which can be used for TEN-T projects and for other transnationalprojects, have been successfully tested in 4 case studies, comparing them to nationalmethodologies. The most important differences between these guidelines and the nationalmethodologies include: the market prices used in some national appraisals and the factorcosts recommended by the guidelines; choice of the social discount rate; and the durationof the appraisal period (HEATCO, 2006).The work programme of the Barcelona Declaration which formalises the intentions of theBarcelona Process 13 includes, among other things, the development of efficientinteroperable transport links between the EU and its Mediterranean partners (CEC, 1995).In order to develop a common approach for transport infrastructure in the Mediterraneanarea, research has reviewed and compared the assessment and evaluation methods usedby the Mediterranean countries with those used by EU, and it has developed a multicriteriaassessment framework suitable for all relevant stakeholders. This framework canbe used to identify priority projects involving cross-national investments for future researchand transport policy analysis. Research has also elaborated a strategy for achievingintegrated infrastructure planning, interconnectivity and interoperability of transportsystems in the Mediterranean areas and between the EU and the Mediterranean countries(MEDA TEN-T, 2006). The result has been a comprehensive analysis of the Euro-Mediterranean transport system, which provides a qualitative and quantitative descriptionof the transport sector in the Mediterranean area. Furthermore, an assessment of theperformance of this transport system against international and regional indicators has beencompleted, and the developed evaluation methodology has permitted the identification ofmajor bottlenecks, and issues to be addressed. Also, actions to improve the overallefficiency of the transport sector in this area have been proposed (MEDA TEN-T StrategicMaster Plan).4.4.3.2 Approaches for assessing sustainability and quality of lifeResearch has developed a methodology and a user friendly and easy to use tool whichintegrates demand generation and policy assessment capabilities and allows policymakers to assess the impacts of policy measures. However since the quality andavailability of data is not the same for all countries, the best way to use this tool is tocompare the relative performance of policies, rather than assessing the absolute level of13 The Barcelona Process launched by Euro-Mediterranean Foreign Ministers in 1995 hasestablished an innovative alliance based on the principles of joint ownership, dialogueand co-operation between EU member states and Mediterranean partners (at that timerespectively 15 and 14 in numbers). For further information, please visit the web page:http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/euromed/barcelona_en.htm.Thematic Research Summary: “Decision Support Tools” Page: 47 of 74Transport Research Knowledge Centre