Policy provides the ‘why’ while strategy defines the ‘what.’ Your task is to bridge that gap.
Policy statements often use broad, aspirational language. While inspirational, such statements can pose challenges when planning specific actions.
Whether you are developing a regional strategy, local transport plan, or business case, your initial task is to align your efforts with policy priorities. However, these priorities are rarely articulated in clear, specific terms. Instead, they tend to be broad, political, and visionary.
As a transport professional, your role is to extract actionable strategic intents that inform clear objectives and practical outcomes.
In this article, we will explore the types of policy drivers you may encounter, how to interpret them, and how to identify red flags in vague documents. You will also learn how to extract the most important element: strategic intent.
What Is a Strategic Intent?
Strategic intent refers to the transport-relevant focus that lies behind a high-level policy statement. It encompasses not just the wording on the page but what that wording signifies for your priorities, planning, and measurement.
For example:
Policy statement: “Create inclusive, connected communities.”
Strategic intent (transport): “Improve transport access for equity-priority groups in underserved areas.”
Strategic intent transforms a vague vision into a concrete planning anchor and is an essential step before establishing objectives.
Types of Common Policy Drivers
Understanding common policy drivers clarifies the intent behind policy language. When reviewing a strategy or policy, look for the common categories of underlying drivers. Typical drivers include:
- • Sustainability and Emissions: Reducing environmental impacts, achieving net-zero goals, promoting modal shifts.
- Safety and Risk Reduction: Vision Zero frameworks, accident reduction, and infrastructure safety enhancements.
- Equity and Inclusion: Ensuring fair access to transportation, addressing underserved communities, and promoting accessibility.
- Economic Development and Productivity: Enhancing network efficiency, reducing congestion, and facilitating freight movement.
- Health and Wellbeing: Encouraging active transportation, reducing air pollution, and improving public health outcomes.
- Growth and Connectivity: Expanding infrastructure, improving network connectivity, and supporting urban growth and regional integration.
Each of these drivers manifests differently depending on the government level or policy context.
Techniques for Interpreting High-Level Strategies
Policy documents vary by governance level, each requiring specific interpretation techniques:
National-level policy:
- Focus on long-term, broad objectives.
- Align transport strategy with overarching national priorities, such as emissions targets (e.g. net zero transport system) and economic resilience.
State-level policy:
- Medium-term strategies (5–15 years) are linked to budgets, legislative frameworks, and specific performance indicators.
- Closer to delivery: identify modal or sector-specific priorities, targeted outcomes, and regulatory actions.
Local or agency-level strategy:
- Provides immediate, actionable guidance often tied to specific projects or locations.
- Translates broader strategies into locally relevant and implementable actions.
Red Flags in Vague Policy Statements
Not every policy is well-written or strategically sound. Be cautious of vague or unclear language that hinders practical interpretation. Watch for these signs of vagueness:
- Generic terms: Terms like“vibrant,” “livable,” “resilient,” “smart,” or “world-class” without clear definitions or measures. What does this mean in practice for transport?
- Lack of measurable targets: Statements that lack specific indicators or timeframes. When is this supposed to happen? How much progress counts?
- Unclear stakeholder identification: Statements that fail to specify who benefits or who is responsible. Who is this for or about? Who’s affected?
- Internal contradictions: Competing or contradictory priorities that create confusion during implementation. Are these objectives mutually achievable?
Pro Tip: Vague policies are not obstacles; they present opportunities for smart planners to lead with clarity.
Extracting Strategic Intents from Policy Language
Follow these structured steps to uncover the strategic transport meaning behind a vague policy goal:
- Identify key drivers: What are the main underlying themes (e.g., sustainability, safety, access, etc.)?
- Clarify and translate the implications: What does this mean specifically for transport?
- Formulate clear strategic intents: Write concise, actionable intents explicitly relevant to transport planning.
Example:
Policy Statement: “Achieve a sustainable, equitable urban environment.”
Strategic Intent: “Increase access to public and active transport options to reduce emissions and improve equity.”
Prompt Pack: Strategic Intent Exploration
Use these AI prompts to enhance your clarity and depth of analysis:
- “What is the likely transport intent behind this policy statement?”
- “Rewrite this sustainability policy as a strategic goal for a transport agency.”
- “Translate this broad policy into three specific transport planning priorities.”
- “Identify potential practical implications for transport planners based on this policy intent.”
This structured approach ensures your strategies are firmly rooted in policy, clear in intent, and actionable for practical outcomes.
Summary: What You’ve Learned
- Most policy statements are broad by design; your role is to extract what’s actionable.
- Understanding the types of policy drivers (e.g. equity, safety, emissions) helps shape relevant objectives.
- Strategic vagueness often signals a lack of clarity, consensus, or prioritization; spot it early.
- Translating policy into clear strategic intents creates a bridge between vision and action.
Strategy without intent is noise. Intent without objectives is inertia.