The fifth MIND-SETS newsletter has now been released. In this issue, we share our impressions of the final conference, summarise the project’s results, and link to the MIND-SETS Knowledge Centre (MSKC).
Read it for yourself and join the debate on LinkedIn and Twitter!
The MIND-SETS final conference, which was held on May 22-23, 2017 in Brussels with Mobility4EU, took a look at transport issues and the future of mobility from a variety of perspectives. The day began with an introduction to the two projects, which address the impact of societal trends and the challenges facing European mobility. Ioana Adamescu spoke about the European Commission’s priorities and objectives, starting with the direction they would like to see mobility move in over the next few years and decades. The EC wants to see a more inclusive and sustainable mobility that contributes to the well-being of all Europeans. There are also concerns related to Big Data and how to manage it – how to balance its usefulness in creating better and more tailored solutions with the need for protecting privacy.
This introduction from the EC easily segued into the next two presentations, which asked how we can create a more human city and a more inclusive society. To achieve this, we need to carefully consider the role of mobility, as this has a crucial impact on people’s self-esteem, social status and well-being.
Several partners from the MIND-SETS consortium then explained the multidisciplinary MIND-SETS approach and presented the results of the project. Different “mobility mind-sets” – from economics, psychology, sociology, ICT and other disciplines – need to be integrated if we want to achieve a more sustainable and inclusive mobility. We can utilise what we know about behavioural economics and decision-making biases to encourage better user choices. Understanding how mobility fulfils our psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness – or, conversely, how restricted mobility frustrates these psychological needs – can help us build a happier and more inclusive society. Social networks can either transform or bolster existing travel patterns, and the data generated by these networks and by ICTs in general will go a long way towards making mobility smarter, seamless and more sustainable. There is also an important generational element when it comes to exploring user behaviour; it was demonstrated how one initiative was able to harness generational values (the millennial propensity towards sharing) to create connections with older people, improving both their access to mobility and their quality of life.
After a lunch in the garden, where participants were able to mingle and reflect on the morning’s ideas, an interactive session took place in which participants ranked current and future transport innovations by how safe, smart, social and sustainable they are. The main purpose of this session was to introduce the radar charts, an interactive tool that will be available at the MIND-SETS Knowledge Centre. This tool is designed to help predict user acceptance of policies, products and services.
The day continued with a discussion of the future of Europe’s transport as the focus passed to the Mobility4EU project. The discussion continued on the second day, which also featured a series of collaborative workshops on transport education, transport innovation and seamless mobility.
| 10:00- 10:30 | Welcome coffee |
| 10:30-11:30 | CHALLENGES FOR FUTURE MOBILITY Chairperson: Linda Napoletano, Deep Blue (Italy)
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| 11:30-13:00 | WHAT DO YOU REALLY KNOW ABOUT MOBILITY? UNDERSTANDING THE MOTIVES BEHIND TRANSPORTATION CHOICES. Changing professional MIND-SETS: a collaborative work effort with European experts and professionals Chairperson: Silvia Gaggi, ISINNOVA (Italy), Berfu Unal, University of Groningen, Laurie Pickup, VECTOS, Pnina Plaut, Technion, Laurent Franckx
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| 13:00-14:00 | Lunch break and networking |
| 14:00-15:30 | HOW TO CREATE AND TAILOR USER CENTRIC MOBILITY POLICIES AND PRODUCTS Interactive session with the audience: participants will have a chance to explore the MIND-SETS Knowledge Centre, will get a preview of the MIND-SETS insights, and will be able to try out an interactive tool that predicts user perceptions of various mobility products, policies and services. Laurie Pickup, VECTOS, Lucia Cristea, Radu Gasper, EIP Herman Konings, Pocket Marketing |
| 15:30-16:00 | Coffee break and networking |
| 16:00-17:30 | A FORUM AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY IN EUROPE Chairperson: Beate Müller, VDI/VDE-IT (Germany)
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| From 17:30 | Networking cocktail |
| 08:30-09:00 | Welcome coffee |
| 09:00-10:30 | OPPORTUNITIES AND NOVEL IDEAS FOR FUTURE MOBILITY IN THE EU Chairperson: Kay Plötner, Bauhaus Luftfahrt (Germany)
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| 10:30-11:00 | Coffee break and networking |
| 11:00-12:30 | Collaborations and Joint activities SESSION A – Towards a seamless passenger journey
SESSION B – User co-created innovation
SESSION C – Future transport education
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| 12:30-13:30 | Conclusions and way forward Inputs from the interactive sessions, conclusions from Mobility4EU and MIND-SETS and a wrap up by EC will close the conference. |
| 13:30-14:30 | Goodbye lunch |
These projects have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 690732 Mobility4EU and No 640401 MIND-SETS.
*Please note that the views expressed in these remarks are personal and do not express a commitment or official policy of the European Commission.
The fourth MIND-SETS newsletter has now been released. In it, we cordially invite you to the MIND-SETS final conference, to be held jointly with Mobility4EU. We then offer a preview of the radar chart, one of the tools that will be available on the MIND-SETS Knowledge Centre (MSKC). The radar chart visually maps the likely attitudes of various generations towards different mobility policies, products and services. In other news, the preliminary results of the project have been presented to the various target groups over the last couple of months and we have briefly summarised these results. Next, we provide an overview and example of the 170 MIND-SETS insights, which will give users a more in-depth understanding of new mobility products, services and trends. These insights, which derive from the wealth of material coordinated in the project, will be available on the MSKC. Finally, you will get a glimpse of the MIND-SETS editorials, another important tool available on the MSKC. The editorials will give decision-makers an overview of mobility with a multi-disciplinary perspective, encompassing economic, behavioural, psychological and generational factors.
Read it for yourself and join the debate on LinkedIn and Twitter!
The MIND-SETS insights are an invaluable tool for gaining a fuller understanding of current trends and how these will affect mobility in the future. On topics ranging from Green Mobility to Big Data, the insights provide a general overview of the situation and some key points, followed by a more in-depth analysis and suggestions for further reading.
For example, have you ever had any doubts or fears regarding the transition to automated mobility? Are automated vehicles safe? How will automation affect jobs? How will pricing structures be affected? If so, then you may want to read the MIND-SETS insight on Mobility automation: A double-edged sword.
Unlike the radar diagrams, which predict customer acceptance of new products and services, and unlike the editorials, which provide expert opinions from a variety of perspectives, the insights analyse current trends and provide some food for thought on how these trends might affect future mobility. If we imagine mobility decision makers as being on a road trip, driving towards a better understanding of how Europeans think about mobility, the radar tool is their map, the insights are their directions, and the editorials are the reviews and impressions that give added meaning to their journey.
Photo: Sebastien Lebrigand
What do the experts say about how we can better understand mobility behaviour? The new MIND-SETS Knowledge Centre (MSKC) will feature editorials from key thinkers in a variety of mobility-related disciplines. Ten editorials are being prepared for the launch of the MSKC, with a continuing programme to be updated every six months. These experienced professionals, many with over 40 years experience in their fields, will offer their thoughts on past approaches and thinking, and where our understanding needs to go in the future.
Some of our key experts are:
The aim of these editorials is to start a dialogue among the users of the MSKC that will encompass a wide range of perspectives. This multi-disciplinary conversation will lead to a deeper understanding of how the many facets of mobility thinking interact, informing and transforming each other. Because you can’t really know where you are going if you don’t understand where you’ve been. You will have the opportunity to react to the editorials and develop discussions on mobility behaviour issues, and to suggest editorials yourself, perhaps highlighting your own contribution to the field. The MSKC will expose you to a wide range of disciplines, including those outside the conventional ones in the transport field, bringing what many have called a ‘breath of fresh air’ into the mobility sector.