Background and History of Concept

The CONCEPT Project identifies and shares best transportation practice between European regions.  CONCEPT disseminates learning about new and effective solutions for developing transportation policies, strategies and projects as part of the INTERREG IIIC programme.

The idea for the CONCEPT Project was initiated by Aberdeenshire Council in early 2002 in response to the European Commission’s Transport White Paper which had identified a number of issues that were required to be addressed for the sustainability and competitiveness of Europe’s transportation system.  Principal among these were the need to “place users at the heart of transport policy” and “shifting the balance between modes of transport” from road-based transport to rail, sea and inland waterways. 

It was conceived as a means by which other regional councils, also peripheral to the core of Europe, could share knowledge and experience of developing transportation policies, strategies and projects. It was envisaged that this would enable them to learn about new, effective solutions, which included trying to overcome shared issues of peripherality and rurality.  Discussions were held between interested parties and with the JTS in Lille.  Eventually CONCEPT was formed by partners who shared common aims and objectives.

Its central focus is to help the European Commission by encouraging and facilitating the transfer of good practice (projects and policies that have positive impacts for a region’s population, its economy and its environment) in sustainable transport. Partnership and co-operation between regions are seen as ideal means of communicating good practice, and also mechanisms by which a region can learn about how others have developed their transportation strategies.