Development of Research Strategy
The Authority’s Statement of Strategy (NRA 2007) describes the mission, strategic goals, objectives and output of the NRA, along with the business environment in which these are carried out. The mission statement is:
Contribute to improving people’s quality of life and to economic competitiveness by developing, maintaining and operating the national road network in a safe, cost effective and sustainable manner.
The Statement of Strategy has been developed on the basis of the road infrastructure requirements presented in Transport 21 (DoT 2006), which outlines a €34.4 billion national transport investment programme to be implemented over the 10-year period 2006-15. This programme is intended to be an integrated solution to Ireland’s current and evolving road and public transport needs. Transport 21 was itself devised from the National Spatial Strategy (GoI 2002) and successive National Development Plans (NDPs), the latest of which (GoI 2006) sets out a programme of investment in Irish infrastructure totalling some €184 billion over seven years.
These documents reaffirm the four basic objectives of infrastructure development in Ireland:
- to continue sustainable national economic and employment growth
- to strengthen and improve Ireland’s international competitiveness
- to foster balanced Regional Development.
- to promote Social Inclusion.
These objectives provide the background which underpins the research programme of the NRA. They also provide the parameters within which individual research projects are identified and evaluated.