An independent retrospective evaluation of the Rail Safety & Standards Board Research & Development Programme

This document describes a retrospective evaluation of the Rail Safety & Standards Board (RSSB) Research & Development Programme, which has been operational since 2001 with the goal of enhancing the UK rail industry's safety, sustainability, and efficiency. Funded by the Department for Transport, the Programme aims to foster collaboration, address market failures, and optimize the rail network. The evaluation, conducted by PA Consulting, utilized a mixed-methods approach over 10 weeks, including contribution analysis, cost-benefit analysis, group analysis, and case studies. The findings indicate that the Programme has been successful in driving industry outcomes, particularly in safety and sustainability, and has promoted cross-industry collaboration. However, it faces challenges in strategic alignment, implementation, and monitoring, with difficulties in calculating an overall benefit-cost ratio. The Programme has been effective in developing early-stage tools and standards, but industry adoption of later-stage products is lacking. Despite these challenges, the Programme is considered to provide value for money and has had a positive impact on the industry, with recommendations for improvements in governance, strategic direction, and data collection to enhance ongoing effectiveness. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

• Lead department: Department for Transport (DfT)
• Evaluation stage: A complete evaluation report
• Other departments: No other departments listed
• Evaluation types: Value for money evaluation; Impact evaluation; Process evaluation
• Impact methods: Theory-based methods
• Theory-based methods: Contribution analysis
• Process methods: Other
• Value for money methods: Cost-benefit analysis
• Grant information: This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
• Government Major Project information: This intervention is not a major project
• Policies: No policies provided

Event Dates

• Event Name: Publication of final results
• Event date: March 2022

Evaluation Costs

• Cost: Not provided

Evaluation sharing

• Link(s) to published report(s): Yes
• Links to evaluation plans: No link provided
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes