Planning of National Transport Infrastructure
In the Islamic Countries
41
2.7.1. Data Collection Method in OIC Countries
Inmost OIC countries’ NTI planning documentation, there is little information on data collection,
definitions and methodologies. Unlike for example EU countries, OIC countries do not use
common and specific guidelines of (appraisal and) data collection in order to make collected
data mutually comparable. According to the survey that has been undertaken within the
framework of this study, 70% of the surveyed OIC Member States indicated that comprehensive
land use and transport data collection take place periodically.
22% of the OIC Member States indicated that the adequacy of information to formulate the NTI
plan was insufficient. The remaining 78% indicated that information to formulate the NTI plan
was (very) adequate, whereas 50%of academics did not agree that data collectionwas adequate.
This discrepancy might be explained by the way the academics view the importance of
comprehensive data. They are more rigorous with data than government officials who consider
budget constrains, as data collection is very costly.
2.7.2. Data Collection Method Outside OIC Geography
Among data required in NTI planning, the forecast of demand volumes is elementary. This is
important to determine the dimensions of the infrastructure and to estimate the revenues in
case of a PPP construction.
To estimate a realistic figure for the demand of services offered by the facility, Alasad (2012)
suggests a system dynamics-based approach. This would overcome the problem with the
conventional methods employed for demand forecasting, being statistical and artificial
intelligence methods. Both approaches have their weakness: most statistical methods cannot
accommodate interrelations between factors, while the artificial intelligence method requires
large amounts of data. Making realistic projections is a challenge. According to Flyvbjerg et al.
(2005), over 50% of transportation projects average a 20% discrepancy between actual and
forecasted demand. In addition, the study suggests that this inaccuracy in demand forecasting is
common across the different types of transportation infrastructures (highways, tunnels and
bridges).
Canada’s Compendium (Canada, 2016) points at the optimization of the use of resources in order
to attain high quality timelines. They suggest to make the collection operations organized,
planned and conducted as efficiently as possible. Furthermore they point at the burden for
respondents, and that this should be minimized. Regarding the interviewing practices, they
stress the importance of consistency across statistical programs in order to attain the highest
quality standards possible.
In the context of modernization, Canada (2016) identifies increased demand for statistics and
parallel declining response rates. This puts pressure on Statistics Offices to take full advantage
of new technologies to gain efficiency while improving the quality of the data collected.
When conducting surveys, it is very important that the interest of respondents is safeguarded
and protected, especially when government agencies or national institutes are the ones
conducting surveys. In its “Compendium of Management Practices for Statistical Organizations
[…]” Canada (2016), acknowledges “moral, ethical and professional obligation […] toward
respondents […] protecting the confidentiality of the information collected”.