Next Host
Call for Expression of Interest to host the 8th Transport Research Arena (TRA) 2020
1. Background
The Transport Research Arena TRA is THE European research and technology biennial conference on transport and mobility. After a decade of successful editions around Europe (2006 Goteborg/Sweden, 2008 Ljubljana/Slovenia, 2010 Brussels/Belgium, 2012 Athens/Greece, 2014 Paris/France, 2016 Warsaw/Poland) the 7th TRA will take place in Vienna.
As a key event in Europe for the latest research and innovation results and the development of future mobility visions, TRA covers all modes of transport: road, rail, waterborne, aviation as well as cross modality and passenger and freight transport in urban, inter-urban and long distance settings.
TRA provides the arena for
- Research, industry, public administrations, users and other stakeholders
- Policy makers framing research and transport policy
- New ideas, technological solutions and new business models
- Experiencing the future of transport and mobility
- Mobilising the best brains and exchanges of information and best practices
2. Governance of TRA
TRA is hosted on a rotation principle in one of the European countries and is jointly organised by the European Commission, the European Technology Platforms for Aviation, Construction, Road, Rail, Water and Logistics (ACARE, ECTP, ERTRAC, ERRAC, Waterborne and ALICE), the Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR), and the Transport Research Alliance (ETRA).
The Management Committee (MC) is the permanent governing body, chaired by the host country and consisting of representatives of all the above-mentioned bodies and the previous TRA host. The MC is the ultimate decision making body of TRA. As such, it is responsible for all necessary strategic and political decisions, and for coordinating all preparatory activities. The TRA MC then establishes the relevant subcommittees (Program Committee, Organising Committee) in order to support its preparation work.
The TRA host Country is the main organiser with following main responsibilities
- Chairing the TRA Management, Program and Organising Committee (MC, PC, OC) based on TRA’s Terms of Reference
- Control and implementation of the MC, PC and OC decisions
- Legal and financial responsibilities of the organisation of the TRA
- Organisation of the conference
3. Call for Expression of Interest for Hosting TRA 2020
The next TRA will take place in Vienna from 16 to 19 April 2018. For hosting the following TRA (April 2020) a call for expression for interest will be opened now.
This call for expression of interest is being launched on March 1, 2017 and closes on May 29, 2017.
Based on the criteria listed below, the platforms will identify the best application responding to the requirements indicated below.
4. Selection Criteria
A basic requirement for any European Country interested in hosting the TRA is, that the application must be proposed and supported by the relevant national ministry for transport and/or research;
The application shall cover at least the following aspects:
- Suitable candidate to host TRA 2020;
The application consortium shall consist of the following partners: Ministry as the main actor of TRA 2020, support from the city in which the conference takes place and an internationally oriented research institute. The support of the transport related industry is highly welcomed;
- Availability of a suitable conference venue (capacity, plenary rooms, other rooms, exhibition area, outside/inside demonstrations area, accessibility and transport links, technical visits, social programme, etc.);
- Basic financial model;
- Proven experience in organising similar events;
- Attracting conference concept (innovative main theme, emphasis, interactive zone …) based on the concept of former TRAs.
Key figures and references for TRA based on the past experiences:
- Between 2500 and 3000 participants
- About 600 papers in more than 100 session
- 7000 m2 exhibition area
- Gala dinner
- about 60 countries participating
The members of TRA 2018’s Management Committee have decided to create a “Next host selection committee” for TRA 2020 composed by ACARE, ALICE, CEDR, ECTP, ERRAC, ERTRAC, ETRA and Waterborne TP. The same members may back the selected candidate with a letter of support to seek for funding of the event.
5. Application Milestones
February 28, 2016 Expression for Interest opens
May 29, 2017 Expression for Interest Deadline
Early June 2017 Decision of supported candidate
For further information, please visit the TRA website and websites of former hosts. https://2018.traconference.eu/
Contact for any questions that might occur and addressee of the application on behalf of the Chair of MC to:
Ms Andrea Dapra
TRA 2018 Secretariat
Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology
Download Call for Expression of Interest to host TRA 2020 (pdf)
Last updated : 03/03/2017