Work Program Structure
The Work Program is divided into 5 working packages (key areas), developing collaborative works at different level:
Work Package 1
Work Package 1
Constitution of an integrated research program
The first Work Package is devoted to the constitution of an integrated research program. This work package is divided into tasks corresponding to the various research fields mentioned above. The activities conducted in parallel in each task (described in detail in the WP description) aim at constituting a common, consistent research program. This involves:
Developing a common view on the state of the art of the different applications, technologies and supporting research, analysing the position of the NEARCTIS group relative to international research.
Identifying users research needs
Determining research priorities, identifying scientific challenges
Evaluating necessary resources for research and the need for co-operation
Defining the role of each partner in a way consistent with their own priorities and constraints.
Work Package 2
Work Package 2
Identification, development of specifications and the pressessment of illustrative case studies to be potentially conducted
The second work package is devoted to the identification and development of specifications and the pre-assessment of illustrative case studies to be potentially conducted. Selected case studies should fulfil a number of criteria:
Represent real complex problems that are likely to benefit from the application of innovative research techniques (e.g. those identified in WP 1).
Be representative for similar problems and approaches appearing in several traffic networks around Europe.
Involve new research challenges.
This WP 2 is subdivided into a number of tasks so as to carefully address various geographic or functional aspects of emerging traffic and transportation problems.
Again, the role of associate partners is fundamental in this WP, in constituting working groups on possible applications: local Authorities may provide implementation sites, manufacturers could be involved in development etc.
Work Package 3
Work Package 3
Education, training and dissemination actions
The third work package is devoted to Education, training and dissemination actions. This will be a very important task in NEARCTIS as it is a way of strengthening the links between the core group and the professional community. The activities of this WP will be strongly oriented to make NEARCTIS a world-class reference in its domain and to offer the most significant knowledge base in traffic management and cooperative systems field. Within this WP a specific task is dedicated to the management and relationships with Associate Partners. Indeed, to ensure an efficient spreading of excellence, the NEARCTIS NoE decided to set up a group of Associate Partners composed of:
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The international academic community concerned with the research topics studied in the network
The professional community concerned with manufacturing and advising on technologies and systems for traffic management and co-operative systems: car manufacturers, traffic systems manufacturers, consultants, etc
The Traffic management authorities (local authorities, motorways operators, etc)
The main contribution of Associate Partners will be their participation in thematic or application working groups in the networks. This contribution will have two consequences:
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To ensure the relevance of the activities performed within the Network
To enhance the dissemination and thus the impact of the results of the NoE
Beside these specific actions towards stakeholders through the association of partners outside the Network, there will be a particular emphasis on the training of young professionals, considering that enhanced skills will be needed in the coming years to exploit advanced traffic management opportunities to best effect.
Work Package 4
Work Package 4
Constitution of a set of common resources for the network
The fourth workpackage deals with the constitution of a set of common resources for the network: it is a constitutive part of the centre of Excellence which is the global objective of the project. The idea is:
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To identify resources owned by each partner and which could be useful as a common resource,
To develop agreements for sharing these resources with respect to costs, intellectual property rights, etc
To organise the use of common resources
To specify and develop additional resources as necessary for the future Centre of Excellence.
Common resources can be of various forms:
Data sets are certainly the most valuable resources to be shared. The interest is to make it possible to compare the results obtained by various researchers on the same data; it is also to share the costs of gathering data and elaborating the metadata necessary for their use
Experimental resources are also useful to share: test tracks, equipped test vehicles, traffic test beds which belong to one of the network partners may be made available to others or even in some cases be managed in common
Software (simulation, data processing, etc) may also be shared, with various possibilities : open access, proprietary software usable by all partners etc
Bibliographic data may also be shared in various ways : free access to databases, or constitution of common bibliographic databases
Training material, such as courses, training software, exercises, etc The ways these various resources will be made available to the global community or limited to Associate Partners or to members of the core group will also be examined.