Transport for the North’s core function is to set a high-level long-term vision for the North through our Strategic Transport Plan. In setting that vision it is essential all our plans are underpinned by robust evidence, and we develop policies that can be turned into action. As has now been acknowledged by Government, reversing decades of underinvestment in the North will require significant and sustained investment.
TfN was established to evidence the link between investment in connectivity and the economic, social and environmental benefits of that connectivity over the next 30 years. Such a long term, transformational approach urgently requires radical new approaches to understanding how transport investment is planned, funded and delivered.
At the core of our remit is the need to facilitate this much needed transformational, yet inclusive, economic growth.
We focus on a strategic approach to prioritise interventions that demonstrably contribute to the overarching goal of facilitating growth in a sustainable way across the North.
The criteria upon which investment decisions are made needs to be reflective of a broad range of measures that include the economic, environmental and social benefits that any interventions will deliver.
Learn more on Economic growth"At the heart of our work is the need to bring forward credible and affordable long-term proposals for transforming the North of England’s transport network."
Our Economics and Research team manages a programme of strategic research and analysis to ensure there is a robust and comprehensive evidence base to inform policy making and business case development.
The team also leads on developing and implementing a consistent approach to Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E), making sure we can measure progress towards strategic and programme objectives and embed a cycle of evidence-based policy-making across everything we do.
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The means by which identified interventions are funded should be consistent with the overarching goal of facilitating economic growth.
Our Strategy and Policy team focuses on key, cross-cutting policy issues including the development and implementation of the Strategic Transport Plan and the Northern Transport Charter.
The team agrees priority areas for policy development, with associated implementation plans in the year ahead, aligning closely to the principles agreed with our Board.
Read moreThe Transport Analysis, Modelling and Economics (TAME) team provides the evidence base for our long-term plans to use transport to connect the rural communities, larger towns and major cities of the North – creating a more productive economic area.
TAME is a team of analysts, data scientists and transport modellers who develop innovative data analytics and modelling tools and apply these in our programmes and business cases to show how transport could enable this economic transformation.
Modelling and analysis
We aim to be leaders in innovative evidence-making across the North and are already disrupting the norm in terms of traditional transport planning methods.
Through the Northern Evidence Hub, we have collated a wide range of evidence across broad policy areas to centralise the Northern evidence base for TfN and our partners.
Creating a Northern evidence baseWe have already established strong links with key institutions across the North of England, and with academics all over the world.
To increase the valuable input provided by these academic partners, we launched our Northern Evidence Academic Forum, which engages academics and thought leaders, while bringing them together with policy makers.
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Click below to download some of our reports that underpin our work. For more please check out our reports section
The first time the North has come together to outline the robust case for transformational transport investment across all of the North, to rebalance the UK economy
A key focus of this Business Plan is our work to review, refresh, and update the Strategic Transport Plan (STP). It is through this document that the political and business le
This report summarises the work from the Northern Powerhouse Independent Economic Review (NPIER) update programme, that concluded with the publication of the economic scenario
The Northern Transport Charter sets out evidence-based arguments for devolution to the regional level of long-term strategic transport investment funding and decision-making p
Our Transport Decarbonisation Strategy is the culmination of efforts from TfN and our partners across the North to create the tools, capability and evidence that will help sha
Adaptive planning to deliver our strategic vision in an uncertain future. Scenario planning is used to explore uncertainty about the future, providing enhanced information and
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