China-Sweden Safety Centre Stage 1

Purpose and goal

To create the centre, develop the Swedish node and perform pilot projects. The objective of the pilot projects were to - investigate the prerequisites for FOT studies in the Chinese traffic situation. - get a status report on the traffic situation in China. - get basic knowledge of the situation in China - get information on how to proceed in the next phase of the centre - create prerequisites for a fruitful collaboration regarding research and innovation. - establish the structures and agreements for the Center and establish forms of cooperation. - be a learning process for those involved.

Results and expected effects

An agreement (the Framework Agreement) was drawn up and signed by the Swedish and Chinese parties. An operational plan has been developed. A Director of the centre is appointed. The office is situated at RIOH in Beijing. The Board, the Steering Committee and Scientific Committee are staffed and are operational. The managers of the pilot projects have reported their results and publications are being prepared. The lessons learned give important input for the next phase. New project proposals are under way with the aim to have 3-6 new projects implemented over the coming two-year period.

Approach and implementation

The work has been done in four pilot projects, all of which had both Chinese and Swedish participants. The collaboration was executed through phone meetings, Skype, mail and physical meetings. Clear goals and deadlines were set for the deliverables, e.g. the Framework agreement should be signed by all parties before the end of 2012. The conclusion is that the pilot projects have been very valuable for the mutual understanding of the Chinese and Swedish way to run projects. The success builds upon the ability to create good relations and the physical meetings have been of great importance.