The great honour of a CIHT Presidential address

On 13 December, supported by my mum and wearing my Rosie Jones 'Triple Threat' tour t-shirt (under the 'uniform'), I had the honour of CIHT President of addressing 1800 fellow professionals at the CIHT Annual Luncheon at Grosvenor House in London.

"Go where you are least wanted, for there you are most needed" said Abby Kelley Foster, the social justice advocate (born in 1811) (h/t my great friend Lynn Basford). My experience so far as CIHT President has been mixed. I've discovered there are many who welcome my approach and the emphasis on our Institution's core themes. I've discovered there are others who aren't in tune with this and have found my approach objectionable. I hope my year as President will help shift the dial.

Below is the script of the speech I delivered. It was wonderful to speak with so many people at the event. One of my highlights was meeting fellow metalhead Hayley Sharp.

I was offered some intro music for when I went up on stage. No question, it had to be the song I decided long ago would be the anthem at my funeral - "Let there by rock" by AC/DC. The faithful would have instantly recognise the opening riffs.

OK, let’s get rockin’.

This is one of the proudest and humbling moments of my professional life. Right up there with being sat on a motorbike in my leather jacket with Steve Gooding riding pillion, on the National Highways stand at this year’s Highways UK.

I must admit that my dream hasn’t quite come true this afternoon as I had hoped to crowd surf in my metal gear from the back across to the stage here. But let’s not allow perfect to become the enemy of good, eh.

It really is an honour to be stood before you all today as your President, and I thank the Institution and my fellow professionals for putting your faith in me. Over the space of a quarter of a century of paying my subs as a Member and then Fellow, times have changed - within and beyond the institution. And I’ve been involved with our institutional journey in a hands-on way, now taking my second turn on the Board of Trustees and CIHT Council; previously Chairing the Membership and Skills Strategy Board; leading the Ten Year Review of the now Chartered Transport Planning Professional qualification. And more. I believe we are moving with the times and rightly so as a progressive membership body that is focused upon delivering public benefit.

It’s a challenging time we are living in at the moment, professionally and for many of us personally. Not all people in the news at the moment share the values of our Institution, but for me it has felt absolutely natural to step into this role and represent the three core themes that are dear to CIHT, because they are dear to me too (and at this point I wish I had my green cap to put on): Climate Action; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; and Professionalism…. Come on, Let’s Make Earth Great Again.

Now, our beloved sector includes many more issues than only these and I don’t want to diminish them by seeming to give them less attention. And yet across the richness of all the issues those of you gathered in this room specialise in, those core themes have relevance, as is evident in the constructively challenging reports CIHT continues to produce – for example, on creating a public realm for all, on taking a safe systems approach to our road network, on addressing the resilience of our infrastructure.

But this afternoon I want to speak to our three core themes and invite you to open your minds to the importance of delivering public benefit in what we do as members of this Institution and of our professions.

I am following the work of past Presidents of CIHT, including Karen McShane and Neil Johnstone, in strongly supporting these themes, not least because they are all fundamental and complex and will continue to need our attention well into the future.

In addressing those themes during my Presidential year, it may not have escaped your notice that I have been mostly wearing ?a heavy metal t-shirt and jeans. The intended message is not one of disrespect for the office of CIHT President. On the contrary. My intention is to underline the importance of bringing authenticity to addressing our three core themes, and reflect an important part of my own authenticity. We have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. In doing so, I recognise this may challenge some peoples’ views as this is not always the traditional way of doing things; but it will, at the very least, stimulate a conversation and reflections, which we should all welcome.

Walking the walk on climate action is to expect change – substantial change to business as usual, unless we’re prepared to risk drifting towards quite frightening future prospects.

Walking the walk on equality diversity and inclusion is also a huge undertaking. It goes much, much deeper than attending an afternoon training course or reading paperwork from HR. I must say that as a white, non-disabled, heterosexual man I’ve come to appreciate that, all else being equal, I’ve had a pretty comfortable passage through my career.

?This statement may not be comfortable for some people, but please reflect on the fact that if just one of those characteristics was different, the chances are I would have had a very different experience with greater helpings of discrimination.

And the irony is that in a society and transport system that seems to have been designed with me in mind, I’m actually in a minority – because most people in society are not white, male, heterosexual and non-disabled. The truth of the matter of course is that we are all different and we need to celebrate that.

I confess that I am wearing a tour t-shirt under here. But it’s not from a metal gig, but from the tour of the wonderful comedian Rosie Jones. Any other fans in the audience? Rosie’s tour is called ‘Triple Threat’, and she inspires me because, as she unashamedly says, she is disabled, gay and not afraid to be different.

In terms of professionalism, for me, and for our progressive Institution, this includes the importance of constructive challenge. Being prepared to ask ‘why?’; being prepared to question; being prepared to speak up and speak out and be true to your values.

And at this point I’d like to bring my mum in on this, if we can run a short video for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6dSCPodv7Y (1 min 41 s)

Thanks mum. Well, in the fulness of time they got me in the end didn’t they – somewhere along the way my long hair did disappear and I find myself now devoting a lot of time to a charity, alongside trying to get my work done!

On this note, I do want to offer some thanks because behind the busy presidential year lies the support of others. Thank you to my employers – the University of the West of England and Mott MacDonald, you’ve both generously cut me the slack that was needed. And most importantly a thank you, in her absence, to my wonderful and long-suffering wife Susie and to my amazing children who see me less than they should.

As a young professional I had the experience of rubbing shoulders with former presidents of this Institution and delivering addresses at their conferences. This included looking to the future and what it might have in store as the digital age was colliding and merging with the motor age. I then had the honour of leading the CIHT’s FUTURES initiative nearly a decade ago which engaged across member workshops in our UK regions to consider future uncertainty and how we plan for it in our sector. It’s surprising how, in the blink of an eye, time has flown by and here we are in a future we once speculated about.

During a presidential year you have the privilege of engaging with many, many fellow professionals and what I’m reminded of is our diversity, which amongst other important characteristics includes age.

Only a few days ago, within one event, I was inspired when talking to an octogenarian man full of wisdom and stories, and a short while later found myself energised by the insight and passion for change from two younger female colleagues. I was reminded that everyone is on their own journey through life, and at different stages as our paths continue to cross. Sharing our experiences, views, hopes and fears is how we learn and grow. Indeed, when it comes to growth, I’m reminded of the saying from my colleague Hannah Smart – “a comfort zone is a safe place to be, but nothing ever grows there”.

I wonder if all of you out there are currently in your comfort zones or ready to step a little outside the zone for what you believe in and what matters?

I’d like to close by drawing your attention to a CIHT initiative which is dear to my heart, and which addresses what, across all ages and career stages, I hope is increasingly treated with the importance it deserves. The initiative is called ‘CIHT CLIMATES’, and is proudly sponsored by Mott MacDonald and Ringway. It considers the prospects for the future ahead of us in terms of climate change, and what priority action we should be taking in our sector in the immediate future.

Only yesterday we were in Birmingham doing the 10th date of our world tour – a series of fully-booked, one-day, in-person workshops in which professionals come together to better understand climate change, to explore uncertainty about the future in the years ahead, and to determine what we should do about it in highways and transportation. The tour continues online in the New Year.

I would like to ask you today if you would lend a hand.

For those who have been unable to come to one of the workshops, we have designed an online exercise that involves no more than half an hour of your time to consider the future, examine the climate change outlook, and share some of your views on what lies ahead and what’s to be done about it. The CIHT CLIMATES survey will soon be able to be accessed via the main webpage of the initiative which you should find in your Luncheon brochure.

Could I ask you to do two things – firstly, once the effects of any drinking from this afternoon have worn off, consider registering your interest on the website in taking part once the online exercise is made available in the very near future; and secondly, please ask one or two friends and colleagues to consider taking part too. We need to hear your views to shape our reporting, and hopefully shape our futures.

Well, I think my time is almost up. Which reminds me, actually, of a quote from the gay icon of heavy metal and lead singer of Judas Priest, Rob Halford, “Heavy metal is immortal, but we’re not”. Let’s put the time we have left before us in our careers to good work and be the best versions of ourselves we can be in this wonderful profession of ours.

On that note, Can those CIHT members who are able to, please be upstanding to toast 'Our Guests'