Almost 50 leads of national road assessment programmes in 26 countries gathered today for Coffee and Connect, a biannual event which provides the opportunity for programmes to learn from best practice and innovation, and collaborate for success.

The session included presentations on:

• The Global and iRAP Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety – Rob McInerney iRAP CEO
• A Quick Trip Around the World: National News and Happenings – Judy Williams iRAP Global Programme and Communications Manager
• Let’s Chat: Interactive Polls and Discussion – Greg Smith iRAP Global Programme Director

Judy Williams presents update on national activities across the globe

Some of the exciting activities occurring around the world that were profiled included:

• iRAP is piloting a Partner Portal that will share the News, Knowledge, Projects and Trainings occurring in over 100 countries of the world, with searchability and the ability to contribute information to support national record-keeping and tracked success. Access to the Portal is by invitation only to leads of National RAPs. The Portal is part of the 5-Star Global Connections Initiative made possible with the support of FedEx and the FIA Foundation.
• iRAP has recently launched RAPTools helping partners to understand which tools can be used and when, to support Targets 3 and 4. The tools use the iRAP methodology to support infrastructure safety management globally and locally.
• The Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety was recently profiled in Thailand’s Parliament.
• Members of the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety in more than 20 countries, supported by local RAPs and YOURS, have met with national decision-makers to present the new Global Plan for the Decade of Action and call for political commitment and action to save lives.
• In Europe, 20 national EuroRAP programmes are going well and supporting implementation of the new RISM Directive. EuroRAP has commenced a lunchtime seminar series which people are welcome to join.
• iRAP has been named as the road safety approach for the Russian Federation.
• In Tanzania, the 10 Steps for Safer Road Infrastructure pilot is progressing well. Tanzania is the first country to pilot the 10 Step Approach which is designed to provide countries with a proven step by step process to build national capacity for safer road infrastructure and help them achieve Targets 3 and 4.
• AusRAP has been established in Australia for over a decade and is handing leadership from the national mobility club to Austroads. Join the national webinar on 23 November.
• In Brazil, there’s a 62,000km assessment underway and a strong focus on Public-Private Partnerships. The Ministry of Infrastructure of Brazil  and the Brazilian Association of Road Concessionaires  have signed an agreement that includes 10 priorities for the transport sector, one of which is the “Regulatory framework of iRAP”.
• IndiaRAP has recently published their latest newsletter summarising project, capacity building and investment success.
• Local RAPs are shaping in Uzbekistan, Tunisia and Nigeria.
• A Safer Journeys Regional Leader for Latin America and the Caribbean is being appointed.
• Star Rating for Schools is helping Lead and local partners to make school journeys safer in 43 countries. The FIA has produced a Toolkit to support mobility clubs and their recently announced School Assessment Programme Grants are supporting clubs in 10 countries to assess and upgrade high-risk school journeys.
• iRAP is running two grant schemes – one to build the capacity of 60 practitioners from low- and middle-income countries of Africa and the second to support 31 female engineers to learn how to assess and design roads safely.

The experiences and perspectives of leads in countries were shared via a selection of polls, prompting further discussion. The results showed:

• 43% of leads are feeling excited and motivated about road safety in their country right now.
• Almost all participants had read the new Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety. 39% said it is “brilliant” and 52% said “it’s okay”.
• 43% of leads said their country had adopted targets based on (or similar to UN Global Road Safety Performance Targets 3 and 4.

A recording of the session can be viewed here.

Coffee and Connect is an important forum for capacity building and mentorship as national RAPs develop their strategies and action plans for the Second Decade of Action to halve global road deaths and injuries by 2030.

iRAP is the global umbrella organisation for regional and national RAPs including EuroRAP, BrazilRAP, IndiaRAP, MyRAP, ThaiRAP, ChinaRAP, AusRAP, KiwiRAP, usRAP and SARAP.

Working in partnership programmes are #StrongerTogether.