t he role of piarc in global road information and technology transfer julio, 2001 oscar de buen...
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THE ROLE OF PIARC IN GLOBAL ROAD INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
Julio, 2001
Oscar de Buen Richkarday
C3 Technical Committee Chairman
WORLD ROAD ASSOCIATION (PIARC)
PIARC exists “To Exchange Knowledge and Techniques on Roads and Transportation”
It was founded in 1909. It is the oldest international association concerned with Road Engineering, Road Policy and the Management of Road Networks
It now has 97 Member Governments and more than 2000 members in 129 countries worldwide
PIARC´S VISION
“World leader in providing information on roads and road transport policy and practices within an integrated sustainable transport context”
PIARC´s means to serve its members: international forum for analysis and discussion of
road and transportation related issues
identifying and disseminating best practice
supporting activities in developing countries and countries in transition
developing efficient tools for decision making
PIARC´S VALUES
To provide universal quality service to its members
To be open, impartial and objective
To promote sustainable and sound economic solutions
To be customer driven
To recognize road transport in an integrated transport and land use context
To respect differing international road transport needs
To be a leader in technology transfer
WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FOR PIARC?
“The process of openly gaining and freely sharing information about our experiences, solutions, technologies, and innovations”
“In the road transport sector, as in any field, technology transfer can be a catalyst for accelerated economic, social and environmental development”
WHAT DOES PIARC DO TO TRANSFER TECHNOLOGY?
PIARC promotes sharing information about international best practice to serve all stakeholders in the road transport sector
To achieve this, PIARC: organizes its activities around specialized Technical
Committees
organizes quadriennial World Road Congresses and Winter Road Congresses
sponsors technical seminars and
publishes a large number of documents including a quarterly magazine (“Routes/Roads”)
TECHNICAL COMMITTEES
20 Technical Committees develop four year work programs and are grouped under 5 strategic theme topics:
1. Road Technology
2. Road Transport, Liveability & Sustainable Development
3. Road & Road Transport Operations
4. Management & Administration of the Road System
5. Appropiate Levels of Road & Road Transport Development
PIARC TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER TOOLS
Technical committees,
Special Fund,
Seminar programme,
Technology Transfer Centers
WIN
HDM4
SPECIAL FUND
It is designed to enable professionals from developing countries and countries in transition to participate in PIARC´s activities and Technical Committee work
It must help to reflect the whole range of PIARC member governments in PIARC activities
The amount of the grant given is a function of GNP per capita
Only countries classified as “Low-income economies” and “Lower-middle-income economies” by the World Bank may benefit from the Special Fund
SEMINAR PROGRAMME
Each Technical Committee generally holds an average of two plenary meetings a year
All technical committees should arrange two meetings in developing or emerging countries before the XXII World Road Congress in Durban in 2003
It is recommended that Technical Committees organize joint meetings with other professional organizations such as OECD, TRB, PIH and so on
About 20 possible seminars are already in the program
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTERS
In 1999, PIARC is Council passed a resolution to encourage the development of Technology Transfer Centers
At present, PIARC has proposed 3 pilot National Technology Transfer Centres and 8 countries have submitted expressions of interest
Technology Transfer Centers Activities: Maintain a reference library of key documents
Maintain Internet access
Maintain an up to date list of transport web-sites
Produce a regular newsletter
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTERS
Maintain a list of transport sector training courses
Produce an annual report for the PIARC First Delegate
Prepare strategies for using various media for information exchange
Maintain independence from commercial interests and
Evaluate performance as a Technology Transfer Center
WORLD INTERCHANGE NETWORK (WIN)
WIN is a network of computer nodes at the service of the international road community
The basic concept of WIN consists in putting people with questions in touch with people with answers through an efficient information and knowledge interchange network
Nodes are the core of WIN
Using WIN is completely free of charge
HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (HDM4)
HDM4 is a software system for analyzing investment choices in road transport infrastructure
The system assists users in making choices about
Developing new roads
Improving existing roads
Maintaining existing roads
Introducing new vehicle technology
Introducing new ways for funding and managing road assets
PIARC has promoted HDM4 development with other organizations and now is supporting its worldwide dissemination and use
CONCLUSIONS
The information revolution makes understanding knowledge and development more urgent than before
New communication technologies and lower computing costs are shrinking distances and eroding borders and time
PIARC contributes to disseminate and share road related knowledge and helps to place it at the center of development policies