Enabling National Highways to improve England’s strategic roads for disabled people
At a glance
With responsibility for the operation of all major roads in the UK, National Highways wanted to better understand and address the transport access gap between disabled and non-disabled people. They commissioned IFF Research to help them understand the experiences of disabled customers and assess how explore how internal processes could further support inclusive travel. The research combined depth interviews, focus groups and an online survey with disabled people, alongside extensive stakeholder engagement and workshops. IFF worked with disability specialist partners, The Equal Group, to identify priority barriers and create actionable recommendations, for example around opportunities to further embed accessibility across leadership and procurement. This informed a targeted, evidence led action plan and underpinned National Highways’ access and inclusion approach.
About the client
National Highways manage and improve England’s motorways and major A-roads, helping their customers have safer, smoother and more reliable journeys.
Challenges and objectives
National Highways wanted to address the transport accessibility gap between disabled and non-disabled people. They wanted to improve their current program and become a pioneer in the sector, setting best practice in accessible and inclusive travel. To get there, they needed to:
- Better understand their disabled customers’ experiences of journey planning and taking, and the barriers and uncertainties that prevent a comfortable journey.
- Explore how their current projects and internal processes could support ambitions even more effectively.
Solution
Recognising that there would likely be a wide range of different challenges for people accessing the road network beyond disability type, the research started with wide lens. We reviewed literature from relevant internal National Highways documentation as well as external reviews and reports (domestic and international) regarding the experience of disabled people using highways. We ran depth interviews and focus groups with 34 disabled people, and an online survey with 1,001 disabled people. To ensure that everyone could participate who wanted to we worked flexibly and provided materials in multiple formats.
To provide an independent assessment of National Highways current operations, practices and culture we spoke extensively to internal and external stakeholders and ran workshops at the Roads for All industry forum.
The findings were analysed across these different methods, identifying common and prominent challenges. We worked with specialist disability partner, the Equal Group and developed an action plan, focusing on where National Highways could deliver the greatest impact to the greatest number of people.
Impact
National Highways activities were governed by a strong customer focus and their Customer Service Strategy ran throughout the research material design and analysis. This meant the research findings were easy to embed in their new approach.
The research identified clear action points that have fed directly into National Highways current access and inclusion approach. They identified opportunities to further strengthen the culture around accessibility around accessibility within National Highways. Accessibility and inclusion needed to become an embedded priority among the organisation’s leadership and help ensure accessibility is considered proactively and consistently throughout projects.
The research identified opportunities to further strengthen project management processes and how National Highways works with external partners and suppliers. It recommended that accessibility should become more ingrained in their procurement processes and identified opportunities to do so.
You can read about the National Highways approach here.