2020 Review of the Year

Our Enforcement Forum in March (above right) hosted by Jenoptik took place in Camberley where we analysed driver behavioural issues and road safety.  With all ITS (UK) Secretariat staff working remotely from the middle of March, we embarked on creating a substantial online webinar programme, starting with a series of Coronavirus themed webinars, which looked into the impact that the lockdown was having on some of our Members.  Starting from April, our Forum meetings were converted into online webinars hosted over Zoom and in total, we have produced almost forty webinars of excellent, relevant content. These included two Annual Forum conferences, DfT led workshop sessions, international themed webinars in conjunction with the ITS Nationals.  Some of our other key activities included:

• We published a total of 370 articles on our Members’ News page
• Another hugely pivotal moment of the year for us was launching our ITS (UK) Manifesto, which sets our vision and values as an organisation for the future
• We created a special jobseekers membership category and there was no increase in our Membership prices overall
• A new Chair, Ryan Hood (TRL) and Vice Chair, Karla Jakeman (Innovate UK) were appointed to the leadership team
• As a founding Member of the Highways Industry Alliance with Jennie Martin as Chair, we further established our influence in industry collaboration
• We have even helped reach the next generation of travellers by supporting a series of radio programmes about transport which were broadcast on Fun Kids!

For the first time this year our ITS (UK) Awards took place virtually online.  Amongst the notable winners included our current President and former transport minister, Steven Norris winning the Rees Hills Award for lifetime achievement, Stephanie Barton (WSP) in winning the Early Careers Award and Bryan Matthews (University of Leeds) for the Inclusive Mobility Award for his work on transport access and social exclusion.  The ITS (UK) Project of the Year was won by the Transport Technology Forum delivered by Arup with DfT and White Willow Consulting for its Understanding Transport Patterns project (part of the COVID-19 response) and finally the Innovative Use of Technology Award was won by Transport for Greater Manchester with Vivacity and Immense Solutions for its programme to use AI in optimising traffic networks and improve overall journey quality.

Also for the first time, the ERTICO European Congress took place virtually over a dedicated platform and ITS (UK) were pleased to be part of the exhibition floor where some excellent virtual networking and conversations took place.     

Furthermore, we also improved our website functionality by creating a more user-friendly homepage and easier access to all the relevant ITS (UK) content. 

Throughout 2020, I believe we have conveyed the right message to our Members by being active and regularly producing content and will continue to do so next year regardless of circumstances.  We want to ensure that we stay relevant and ensure we are making an effort and commitment to supporting our Members during 2021.  Some of our initial plans include the following:

• Continuing to produce more online content (regardless of circumstances – “business as usual” or otherwise) – webinars, workshops etc.
• Make further progress on the ITS (UK) Manifesto and implementing these points in our core values as an organisation
• Work towards creating a realistic plan of action for COP 26 and what our involvement should be
• Improving our communications with the marketing and communications teams of each organisation
• Continuing to revamp and improve our website with more content and enabling a more user-friendly experience
• Improving our communication and contact with local authorities and making them more visible
• Promoting any Members’ blogs or vlogs
• Increase social media influence through LinkedIn, YouTube, twitter and Eventbrite
• Ensuring our YouTube page keeps growing and being promoted by other Members

List of Members who have joined ITS (UK) in 2020: