The strategy "Integrating Research as a Core Safety Activity" aims to embed research deeply within safety practices at a transport regulatory organization. It highlights the importance of creating stronger links between research and operational units. For instance, organizing monthly meetings and developing a shared digital platform ensures seamless communication. By establishing feedback loops, operational staff can influence research priorities directly, ensuring the research aligns with real-world needs.
The strategy also emphasizes prioritizing research with direct safety impacts. Conducting needs assessments and collaborating with external experts help identify key challenges, ensuring resources focus on high-impact areas. Additionally, fostering partnerships with academic institutions enriches research projects with advanced insights.
Building a safety-oriented research culture is another focal point. This is achieved through initiatives like incorporating safety research in professional development, recognizing efforts that lead to safety improvements, and facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration. Such efforts underline the role of research in advancing safety outcomes, while regular benchmarking and stakeholder involvement ensure continual improvement.
The strategies
⛳️ Strategy 1: Enhance communication between research and operational units
- Organise monthly meetings between research and operational teams to discuss ongoing projects
- Develop a shared digital platform for collaboration and communication
- Create a newsletter summarising research developments and safety implications
- Establish a feedback loop for operational staff to provide insights into research priorities
- Host quarterly seminars for staff to learn about new research and how it impacts safety
- Develop joint projects that align research outcomes with operational demands
- Implement regular reporting on the impact of research on safety performance
- Train staff in both units on effective communication and collaboration skills
- Define clear roles and responsibilities for integrative task forces
- Evaluate the effectiveness of communication enhancements quarterly
⛳️ Strategy 2: Prioritise research projects that have direct safety implications
- Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to identify key safety challenges
- Establish a criterion for evaluating research proposals based on safety impact
- Allocate funding specifically for research with direct safety benefits
- Collaborate with external experts to gain insights on pressing safety issues
- Develop a timeline for key research projects to align with operational needs
- Implement regular progress reviews of ongoing research projects
- Adjust research prioritisation annually based on evolving safety data
- Ensure sufficient resources are dedicated to high-priority safety research
- Foster partnerships with academic institutions for advanced research inputs
- Produce annual reports on research outcomes and safety improvements
⛳️ Strategy 3: Build a culture of safety-oriented research
- Develop a mission statement that emphasises research as a core safety activity
- Include safety-oriented research training in professional development programmes
- Encourage research staff to present findings at safety conferences and forums
- Recognise and reward research initiatives that lead to safety improvements
- Involve stakeholders in shaping research agendas to ensure relevance
- Create an internal campaign highlighting successful research-driven safety outcomes
- Conduct benchmarking with other transport regulators on safety research practices
- Implement safety focus groups to guide research initiatives
- Promote interdisciplinary research to tackle complex safety issues
- Document and share 'lessons learned' from past research to inform future projects
Bringing accountability to your strategy
It's one thing to have a plan, it's another to stick to it. We hope that the examples above will help you get started with your own strategy, but we also know that it's easy to get lost in the day-to-day effort.
That's why we built Tability: to help you track your progress, keep your team aligned, and make sure you're always moving in the right direction.
Give it a try and see how it can help you bring accountability to your strategy.
