DARe contributes to new DfT Transport Resilience Strategy

Representatives from the DARe Hub attended the launch event of the Department for Transport's new Transport Resilience Strategy at DfT headquarters in London on 2nd November, which featured contributions from the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Logistics, the DfT Resilience Team, and a panel discussion involving DARe Director, Professor Phil Blythe.

This is the second major Department for Transport strategy that DARe has contributed to in the past year, following the launch of the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy in December 2025.

DARe was pleased to support DfT during the development of the new resilience strategy, providing evidence and expertise from across its research programme. A key aspect of DARe’s contribution was also convening a diverse representation of resilience experts from UK academia. Having spent the past three years bringing together researchers, industry practitioners, and policymakers to tackle complex challenges, DARe was asked by DfT to help organise and facilitate academic workshops to inform this strategy. The Hub recruited leading academics from universities across the UK, alongside a number of international experts, to contribute insights and review drafts, helping to ensure the final publication reflected the breadth of knowledge available across the resilience research community.

DARe is particularly pleased to see the Hub recognised within the strategy as an example of effective sharing, learning, and collaboration. The Hub’s research into the far-reaching impacts of a single asset failure that affected the UK transport network has also been cited as a case study within the document.

At the launch event, the panel discussion highlighted strong support for maintaining momentum behind transport resilience and for ensuring that delivery of the strategy is accompanied by continued engagement across the resilience community.

Professor Phil Blythe commented on the importance of building on the foundations established through the strategy:

“We really need to stay on the front foot of this. DARe will do anything it can to support the Resilience Network outlined in the strategy and help maintain the momentum that has been created. It is important that we continue horizon scanning, identifying both emerging threats and new solutions. We need to drill down to understand these challenges properly and understand how they affect the wider transport system. Over the past three years, DARe has brought together stakeholders from across government, industry, and academia through many discussions, workshops, and research activities. We’ve learned a huge amount from one another and there is a genuine appetite across the sector to move forward together to make transport more resilient.”

Adding to the occasion, one of DARe’s key research papers was published on the same day as the launch event. While entirely coincidental, the publication provided a timely reminder of the strength of the Hub’s research programme and its continuing contribution to the evidence base underpinning transport resilience in the UK.

As the new strategy moves into implementation, DARe looks forward to continuing to work closely with DfT, industry partners, and the wider research community to support delivery of its ambitions and help build a more resilient transport system for the future.

For further information on DARe you can visit their website.