15. The project adopted, a commonly used management tool, known as PESTLE, to consider the macro-environmental factors which impact on the strategic road network, the Agency's core business area. These external influences, which are outside the direct control of the business, are classified under the six headings of:

16. Any business should consider these influences when undergoing a strategic planning process in order to understand how such forces could shape the context for their future business. By understanding the presence and movement of these factors, then a business can plan for eventualities that might be otherwise unforeseen.

17. The themes listed below formed the basis for emerging issues and with the underlying PESTLE analysis, there was a consistent approach to the remaining stages of the project.

• Developments in technology and construction methods that may influence the provision and maintenance of transport infrastructure 30 years hence.
• Developments in road vehicle engineering and control technologies, which might lead to change in patterns of mobility and usage of the inter-urban road network.

• Scope for changing the supply of road space and parking facilities to accommodate the increasing levels of road traffic.
• Scope for intervening to change the demand for road space and parking facilities.
• Scope for introducing improvements in safety as targets for traffic related deaths and injuries are addressed
• Environmental concerns regarding pollution from traffic and increasing needs for sustainable solutions
• Social, economic and demographic changes which may affect the demand for mobility of people
  
  
  • Changes in the locations in which people chose to live and work:
  • Changes in shopping and delivery patterns
  • The internationalisation of industry as work locations are relocated to places where the appropriate skills are most economically available and where efficient transport arrangements exist for the supply and distribution of materials
  • The increasing range of choices relating to existing business meetings and routine office work patterns
  • Changes in the availability, and the use, of leisure time coupled with increasing trends in tourism

   

The "Overview of Future Trends" document was produced to disseminate the information to Agency personnel and a broader professional audience.