Introduction to TPRAF
In one sentence
TPRAF is the framework DARe uses to bring decarbonisation, climate resilience and adaptation into transport infrastructure decisions, and the Decision Support Process is the half of it that structures the decision itself.
The framework and its two halves
TPRAF, the Transport Performance and Risk Analysis Framework, is made up of two complementary components. They answer different questions, and they are designed to be used together.
| Component | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Decision Support Process (DSP) | The decision-making structure: how problems get identified, risks assessed, interventions developed and options evaluated |
| Integrated Modelling Platform (IMP) | The analytical capability: simulating future conditions, quantifying system impacts, and evaluating what alternative decisions would actually do |
This handbook covers the DSP. The IMP has its own handbook, covering climate scenarios, hazard models and transport simulation.
Either one works on its own
The DSP can run without the IMP where enough evidence already exists, and individual IMP components can be used without the DSP. The greatest value comes from using them together, so that decisions rest on quantified evidence rather than assumptions alone.
What the DSP is for
The DSP enables a unified approach to transport infrastructure decision-making by integrating decarbonisation, climate resilience and adaptation considerations into one process. It helps users understand the broader implications of infrastructure choices, including carbon impact, sustainability and resilience.
The handbook gives three examples of what that looks like in practice:
- Asset managers can assess the environmental impact of maintenance decisions
- Senior managers can explore how budget allocations affect network resilience
- Strategists can identify the right investments to address adaptation or capacity needs, within financial and environmental constraints
How it is built
The DSP is assembled from two kinds of building block.
| Building block | Count | Covered in |
|---|---|---|
| Process flows, the stages of the decision cycle | Six | Technical processes |
| Modules, the structured data, models and relationships each stage draws on | Seven | Technical modules |
The six process flows run from understanding the current system through to learning from outcomes and feeding that learning back into future decisions:
- Asset and network evaluation
- Problem framing and scope
- Risk reduction analysis
- Detailed option assessment
- Portfolio optimisation
- Outcome assessment
The modules focus on asset condition, risk profiling, whole-life sustainability, climate resilience, system interdependencies, and the spatial and temporal scales a decision spans.
Together they give a holistic, systems-based approach to the whole-life management of complex infrastructure, optimising asset performance, maintenance and lifecycle management at both network and individual asset level.
What this chapter covers
| Page | What you will find |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Why the framework exists and what it sets out to change |
| Scope & Intended Users | Which decisions it covers, and who it is written for |
| TPRAF Overview | The framework as a whole, and how its parts fit together |
| DSP Overview | What the Decision Support Process does and what it consists of |
| How to Use | Reading paths for different roles and purposes |
Some of this chapter is awaiting source text
Four sections of this chapter exist as headings in the source handbook but have not yet been written: Purpose of TPRAF, Scope and intended users, TPRAF overview, and How this document should be used.
Their pages are in place so that URLs and navigation stay fixed, and each one says where to find related material in the meantime. Nothing on those pages has been invented to fill the gap.
New here?
Read DSP Overview next, then Decision support process for the workflow diagram that the rest of the handbook hangs off.