5. What are the key capacity and capability constraints places face in delivering on their transport ambitions, and what actions can central government take to help overcome them?
Background
DfT’s ARI identifies 40 broad research questions that reflect areas of strategic importance to the department, where further insight and collaboration could enhance our evidence base, challenge assumptions and strengthen future decision-making. The ARI is organised around four complementary themes, and this question sits within the Enhancing Growth and Place theme.
Transport is a critical enabler of economic growth. By connecting people, businesses and markets, it supports jobs, facilitates trade and investment, and shapes overall economic performance. Improved connectivity ensures people can access employment, education and public services, and that businesses can reach their customers and supply chains. This enables greater economic activity, supporting higher productivity and living standards over time.
Supporting economic growth, measured in terms of GDP, is a core priority for the Department and the wider Government. Transport plays a central role by influencing access to jobs, supply chain efficiency, and the ability of firms to grow and compete.
DfT’s ambition is to enhance growth by maintaining, renewing and strategically developing transport networks in ways that reflect the distinct needs, opportunities and constraints of different places. Place reflects the economic and spatial contexts in which transport operates, recognising that impacts and priorities vary across different parts of the country.
This theme recognises that economic performance, including GDP per person, varies across the UK, and that transport investment can play a significant role in supporting regeneration, reducing spatial inequalities and unlocking development. It places emphasis on the performance and resilience of existing networks, alongside targeted investment in new infrastructure, to improve connectivity and accessibility for passengers and freight.
Partnerships are central to this approach. Local authorities, mayors, devolved administrations, industry and communities all shape how transport supports local outcomes. The ARI therefore seeks research that strengthens understanding of the relationship between transport, growth and place, including what works where and why, and how wider system interactions shape outcomes.
Next steps
If you have research relevant to this topic, are planning work in this area, or would like to discuss potential collaboration, please get in touch. For our monitoring and evaluation purposes, we are also keen to hear if the ARI has informed or influenced your research.
To get in touch and report the use, please fill in the form https://submit.forms.service.gov.uk/form/264718/dft-areas-of-research-interest-ari/
Link to DfT ARI: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-areas-of-research-interest/areas-of-research-interest-2026
Topics
Related UKRI funded projects
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Transport investments and spatial economic performance
The research is seeking to understand the implications of transport investments for the spatial economy by identifying effects on workers and firms (e.g. productivity, employment, wages). The research will provide the fi...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: London School of Economics and Political Science
Why might this be relevant?
The project directly addresses the impact of transport investments on spatial economic performance, aligning with the question's focus on capacity and capability constraints in delivering transport ambitions.
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Transportation and the socio-spatial dimensions of travel to work flows
Numerous research studies use commuting data, collected through the Census of Population, to understand social, economic and environmental challenges in the UK. This commuting data has been used to understand patterns; a...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of Manchester
Why might this be relevant?
The project focuses on evaluating transport policy and investment decisions to target resources effectively, which is relevant to understanding actions central government can take to overcome capacity and capability constraints.
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The Role of Demand Responsive Transport in Connecting People to Opportunities in Less Densely Populated Areas
The Government's National Bus Strategy 'Bus Back Better' seeks to arrest the decline in bus provision and use. It sees an important role for Demand Responsive Transport (or DRT) in lower-density areas not served well by ...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of the West of England
Why might this be relevant?
The project assesses the impact of Demand Responsive Transport in rural areas, which partially addresses the question by examining the role of transport in connecting people to opportunities in less densely populated areas.