Africa and South Asia: Conducting Transport Research to Reduce Poverty and Develop Economies

Transport is key to economic development in low-income countries. It allows markets to move. It breathes life into the vital organs of society: local communities, workplaces, schools, hospitals, rural health centers, and entrepreneurial opportunities. But transport in many low-income countries is unsafe and environmentally unsound, and there is a lack of applicable evidence to inform important investments in a rapidly changing climate and transport environment. The evidence base that does exist is often out of date and inadequate.

Through the Applied Research in High Volume Transport project, DT Global helps to close the evidence base investment gap by providing a new ecosystem of knowledge about sustainable transport development in low-income countries. The Applied Research in High Volume Transport project creates policy, engineering, and technical research that will support African and Asian countries to develop strategic, cost effective, safe, and low carbon passenger and freight transport and transport services. The priority research areas include climate mitigation and adaptation; inclusion, gender, and road safety; policy and regulations; technology and innovation; fragile and conflict-affected states; and research uptake and capacity building. These areas will be studied across three types of transport: long distance strategic corridors for road and rail, urban transport, and low-carbon transport.

The program works with stakeholders to address knowledge gaps through a comprehensive state of review undertaken by academic and research institutions, using insight papers and early-stage innovation research to identify research gaps, conduct research, adapt knowledge, and promote uptake of findings. Program results to date include:

• Mainstreamed and built leadership on inclusive transport for persons with disabilities, women, youth, older people, and other marginalized groups, including award-winning session on inclusive transport at the World Road Congress 2019.
• Developed an evidence base and built capacity of lower-income countries to implement low carbon transport systems, including supporting the World Bank’s transport decarbonisation strategy.
• Led the global transport sector response to Covid-19 by commissioning, gathering, and disseminating more than 20 research projects on the impact of the pandemic on transport systems and how to build resilience for future pandemics.
• Worked with stakeholders to identify knowledge gaps through a comprehensive state of knowledge review undertaken by academic and research institutions, using insight papers and early-stage innovation research to identify research gaps and provide direction for new research needs.