Roads Reform Evaluation
About the research
The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) has been commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) to conduct an evaluation of Road’s Reform focusing on the RIS2 and Interim Settlement period. The aim of this evaluation is to assess:
- the value of the “system” resulting from the reform,
- the extent to which it has delivered the intended outcomes, and
- whether it is future proofed to continue delivering these outcomes in light of evolving requirements, challenges, and opportunities.
As part of this project, representatives of companies in Highways England’s supply chain delivering projects or services on the SRN in England will be invited to complete a survey. The survey will take place online and will last between 10 and 15 minutes.
If you prefer, you can complete the survey by phone. To complete the survey via phone, please email us (roadsreform@natcen.ac.uk) providing your preferred contact number and availability for a call.
What does taking part involve?
The survey is mostly compromised of closed questions. The survey should be completed by someone who can provide an organisational perspective on the following topics:
- Funding levels and stability,
- Awareness of the road investment strategy and/ or interim settlement,
- Efficiency and flexibility,
- Experience/ perspectives on working with National Highways,
- Perspectives on supply chain evolution,
- Supplier confidence,
- Perspectives on innovation.
Alongside this survey, we are also conducting depth interviews with a range of stakeholders involved in managing, upgrading and maintaining the strategic road network alongside those representing its users.
Why take part?
Taking part will help the DfT to understand the effects of Roads Reform, a set of changes in how England’s motorways and major roads are managed.
As a thank you for taking part, each respondent will receive a £10 e-voucher or can make a charitable donation of the same value. At the end of the survey, you will be provided with three charitable options. This voucher will be issued to the person that took part in the survey on behalf of their organisation for personal use. This incentive is not for the organisation.
Do I have to take part?
No – participation is entirely voluntary. You can contact NatCen by email at roadsreform@natcen.ac.uk if you would prefer not to be contacted again.
How will my information be used?
NatCen will write up the findings of the evaluation in a report in a way that protects your anonymity as far as possible. More details about this are outlined in the privacy notice below.
The information you give will be treated as confidential as directed by the Code of Practice for Statistics. Your responses will be anonymised, and the statistics produced will not identify you. Your responses will be used for research purposes only and will not be combined with information held by the DfT or any government department/organisations.
Do I have to complete the survey in one go?
The survey should only take up to 15 minutes to complete. Once you have started the survey, it will need to be completed in one sitting. If you close the browser before completing the survey, or leave it idle for more than 10 minutes, your responses may not be saved.
If you’re completing the survey by phone and need to take a break, let the interviewer know and they will either arrange a break or call you back later.
I have completed the questionnaire, but you contacted me again to remind me.
Thank you for taking part! You may have completed the questionnaire after we checked our records. We apologise, but we will have safely received your answers, and you will still receive your voucher.
Where can I get more information on this?
We are happy to answer any questions you may have about this research or how the data will be used. If you have any questions or queries, please contact us at: roadsreform@natcen.ac.uk
Privacy Notice
Who are NatCen?
The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) is an independent, not-for-profit social research organisation. NatCen have been commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) to conduct an evaluation of Road’s Reform: the changes made to the Strategic Road Network since 2014. The aim of this evaluation is to assess the value of the “system” resulting from the reform, the extent to which it has delivered the intended outcomes, and whether it is future proofed to continue delivering these outcomes in light of evolving requirements, challenges, and opportunities.
What is the legal basis for processing my data?
For the purpose of data protection legislation, DfT is the data controller. NatCen is the data processor. This means DfT is responsible for deciding the purpose and legal basis for processing data. For the use of personal data to be lawful, we need to meet one (or more) conditions in the data protection legislation, as set out in Article 6(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For the purpose of this project, the relevant condition that we are meeting is ‘public task’. This means that we believe that there is a genuine reason for us to process this data (to evaluate the Road’s Reform Programme), that this data is needed to fulfil this purpose (we could not evaluate without this information), and that using this data will not interfere with individuals’ interests, rights or freedoms.
Who will have access to my personal data?
NatCen is carrying out this research on behalf of the DfT. The survey invitation is being sent out by National Highways to supply chain partners on our (NatCen’s) behalf.
The research teams at NatCen will have access to:
- Participants’ contact details
- Survey responses
No one at NatCen outside of the designated research team will have access to this data.
How will my data be used?
Data will be used for research purposes only. NatCen will write up the findings of the evaluation in a report in a way that protects your anonymity as far as possible.
NatCen will report the overall views of all those that participated. NatCen will not disclose to anyone what you have personally said or include any names or personal details in research outputs. The findings of the research will be published externally.
Please note that complete anonymity cannot be guaranteed insofar as some of your colleagues or other individuals who know you may be able to identify you based on some of your contributions.
National Highways are distributing the survey invitation on NatCen’s behalf. However, they will not know who does/does not complete it and will not have access to the responses.
You can ask for any of your contributions to be redacted, or withdraw from the study entirely, for up to one week from the date of survey completion. If you wish to do so, please contact the NatCen research team at the email address provided below.
NatCen will delete all personal information, and any other data held on the project, at the end of the project.
Who can I contact with a query or complaint?
To contact the NatCen research team, please email: roadsreform@natcen.ac.uk
If you have any questions about how your data will be used for this research, please contact Tim Vanson at NatCen (Tim.Vanson@natcen.ac.uk).
More information about the DfT’s data protection policy and how to contact the data protection officer can be found here.
Under GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint about how information has been used or managed with the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk.