Over the last decade, there have been unprecedented changes impacting the roads and transport sector with the rise of new technologies and service models, climate change, new forms of work and leisure, and the evolution of a complex and technology-enabled mobility ecosystem at a fast pace. This creates a context of the sector facing important challenges originating from systemic and ongoing changes in society, economy and environment.
Transportation agencies must keep on track of these trends while continuing with their central mission of providing essential services in the movement of passengers and freight, building, operating and maintaining critical infrastructure, as well as ensuring customer safety and welfare within the limits of environmental and social sustainability. Combining these goals will not be possible without embracing transformative visions for the future. This requires a change of mindset and the adoption of collaborative, agile and open innovation not only in the movement of people, goods and services, but also in transport agencies’ own organisational structures, processes and resources, as well as engaging with multiple stakeholders.
With this context in mind, Working Group 1 (WG1) of PIARC Technical Committee 1.1 (Performance of Transport Administrations) has been convened over the 2023 – 2027 Strategic Planning Cycle to undertake a programme entitled Envisioning the Transport Agency of the Future (ETAF). This programme focuses on how transport agencies should evolve to meet changing needs and customer expectations with highlights on aspects such as evolving role and function, planning for uncertainty, future operating models, workforce and skills, assessing the impact of technology and digitalisation, incorporating innovation, and stakeholder engagement with other public, private and civil society entities.
This Literature Review is the second output of the ETAF research and builds on the State of Knowledge Report previously published by PIARC on this topic. Specifically, it conducts a structured and synthesised evaluation of 105 different sources of literature which have been collated from across academia, industry and government and from all parts of the World. It sets out concepts and conclusions on key topics, followed by specific implications for the design of the Transport Agency of the Future. 
The Review is presented as a Main Report and a separate High-Impact Summary.
The intention is that the findings of this Review will be combined with evidence from a separate ongoing State of Knowledge Report to produce a combined secondary evidence base for the research programme. This will lay the basis for subsequent primary data collection and analysis, principally a questionnaire survey and in-depth case studies, leading to policy recommendations and guidance in subsequent stages of the ETAF research.