Resolving the differences between system development and system operation using STAMP: A road safety case study in a low-income setting

Accepted/In Press date: 11 January 2021

e-pub ahead of print date: 1 February 2021

Published date: 3 July 2021

Additional Information: Funding Information: One of the key features of the control structure model developed for the Bangladesh road safety system is its ability to represent the control and feedback loops between non-adjacent levels. Discussion with stakeholders from the Project Management Team level revealed a striking fact about the current norms of project design and implementation in Bangladesh. Firstly, many international donor agencies directly fund development projects and oversee progress, ignoring the intermediary levels of the system. Also, actors from the Parliament and Legislatures level, such as the Prime Minister’s office, directly influence the design and implementation of projects, thereby superseding lower-level actors. These overpowering mechanisms eventually bring instability to the overall system and decrease efficiency. Another potential source of failure, or suboptimal performance, in the system, relates to the disconnect between funder, developer and operator. Projects are often funded by national or international donors, and then designed and implemented by a certain entity from the Government Agencies level. After project completion, however, responsibility for operation and maintenance is commonly handed over to an entity from the Operational Delivery and Management Level, even though this organisation was never involved during design and implementation phase. For example, the Uttara and Purbachal residential area in Dhaka was developed by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK; a public agency responsible for co-ordinating urban development in Dhaka); however, it is the Dhaka City Corporation that now has the responsibility for maintenance of the areas, and for day-to-day operations. Stakeholder interviewees of our study involved in project management pointed out that the influence of external, international funders is much larger in Bangladesh, in the case of the design and implementation of projects, than would be expected in high-income settings, where internal resources are higher. This adds complexity to the process. For example, a traffic signalisation project in Dhaka city was funded by the World Bank, and implemented by the Dhaka City Corporation; however, it will be operated by the Bangladesh Police. The police were never consulted during design and implementation phase, despite being the intended end user. This, and the previous example, highlight the inconsistencies and lack of integration in the development-driven system, and the poor connections to the operation of the system. This is common across many low- and middle-income countries, and is something that negatively affects the safety and sustainability of the overall road safety system by breaking the standard control and feedback mechanisms. Funding Information: This research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research [NIHR; 16/137/122] using UK aid from the UK Government to support global health research. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the UK Department of Health and Social Care. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords: STAMP, control structure, road safety, sociotechnical system, systems thinking

Local EPrints ID: 448323

URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/448323

DOI: doi:10.1080/00140139.2021.1876928

ISSN: 1366-5847

PURE UUID: 2b702fab-c465-4750-be95-7b59ef96d36f

ORCID for Rich C. McIlroy: orcid.org/0000-0003-0326-8101

ORCID for Katherine Plant: orcid.org/0000-0002-4532-2818

ORCID for Neville Stanton: orcid.org/0000-0002-8562-3279

Date deposited: 20 Apr 2021 16:32

Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 06:28