2011 has been a busy year for the FIA Foundation especially with the launch of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety. It has also been a year for reflection as we review our first ten years of work. Since its creation in the autumn of 2001 the Foundation has concentrated on building global platforms for action to promote safe and sustainable mobility. The aim has been to create new frameworks and partnerships at a global level and in this respect we have exceeded our own expectations.
FIA Foundation Director General David Ward
Through the Make Roads Safe campaign we succeeded in securing the UN Decade which offers a shared platform for all those concerned to reduce death and injury on the world’s roads. We have also developed key partnerships with like-minded organisations that share our vision of safer users, in safer vehicles, on safer roads. Our environmental work has followed a similar approach. The Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) has promoted the fuels and technologies needed for clean air, whilst the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) has established the first ever global partnership to achieve a 50% improvement in passenger car fuel efficiency by 2050. The Foundation has also supported an important programme of motor sport safety research and training projects carried out by the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety and Sustainability.We should also acknowledge the generous assistance of Sir Martin Sorrell and his colleagues at WPP in preparing the symbol for the Decade of Action. The symbol was launched in September at the Summit on the UN Millennium Development Goals, at the Clinton Global Initiative and at the World Injury Prevention Conference in London. More information about these events is contained in this review.
In road safety the challenge now is to switch from leading the campaign for the Decade to ensuring that its ambitious goals are realised. This will require greater effort to encourage implementation of effective road safety programmes and to hold the international community accountable for the commitments they have made to reverse the rising number of death on the world’s roads. To achieve both the Foundation will make the recommendations of the Decade’s Global Plan our main focus for action.
That is why through the Clinton Global Initiative we have already made a series of ten year funding commitments to safer roads, safer users, and safer vehicles. These will be implemented with our key strategic partners the International Road Assessment Programme, the FIA and its affiliated clubs, and the Global New Car Assessment Programme. Our environment work in the PCFV and the GFEI will also focus on implementation. Our major priorities will be promoting the availability of low sulphur fuels in all world regions to enable use of effective emission control technologies, and encouraging more countries to develop policies for fuel economy. We will be pushing for these policies to be adopted at the ‘Rio plus 20’ Earth Summit to be held in Brazil in June.
In line with this emphasis on implementation the Foundation has decided to concentrate its grant making on a smaller number of projects and partners. A Strategy Review undertaken this year by our Board of Trustees has shown that multi-year partnerships have been our most effective form of co-operation generating strong catalytic effects. For the next decade we have decided to build on this positive experience. We are, therefore, discontinuing our annual open call for grant applications. This will make the Foundation’s grant programme easier to manage and more predictable. It will also help us to comply with the stricter obligations for due diligence required by the UK Bribery Act 2010 which came into force in July 2011.
We are living through a period of unprecedented global change. Automobile use over the next decade is forecast to double. The growth of the middle class, especially in the emerging economies, will create a new wave of consumer interest in affordable, safe, clean, and more fuel efficient motor vehicles. The positive benefits of increased mobility will also generate negative effects in terms of higher road fatality and injury rates, increased pressure of fuel prices, and higher levels of transport related emissions. The challenge of the next decade and beyond will be to accommodate this new age of global motorisation on a sustainable path by accelerating the use of safer and cleaner vehicles, on better roads and driven by informed and responsible consumers.
The experience of the last ten years has shown that the Foundation has successfully built new platforms for global action promoting safe and sustainable mobility. Such progress is the result of sustained efforts by our committed team of staff, Trustees, and our partners. The successes of our first ten years are in no small part due to their dedication and hard work. It has been a privilege to collaborate with them. In a world full of challenge and opportunity we all look forward to shaping the Foundation’s contribution to another decade of action.
David Ward
Director General
FIA Foundation