The Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS)

GRSF has been partnering with Bloomberg Philanthropies towards improving road safety in developing countries since 2009. The global impact of the GRSF-led interventions under BIGRS has been profound through improvement in safe road infrastructure management, crash data management, economic impact assessments and capacity building in selected countries and cities.

GRSF leveraged road safety in Bank-financed projects, by capturing synergies from BIGRS-funded technical assistance and training activities. In total, the GRSF-BIGRS 2015-2019 partnership supported 25 World Bank-financed loans and advisory services across the program period, which have a total dollar value of almost $8 billion.

Other GRSF team roles in the Bloomberg Philanthropies program focused on advocacy through iRAP results, with a series of studies prepared and disseminated during the program. Some of these studies are related to sensitivity of speed variation, design implementation, preparing guidelines, improving crash data systems and, very importantly, understanding the economic impact of road injuries.

Research supported by the GRSF-BIGRS partnership has shown that countries could have a 7% to 22% additional increase in GDP per capita over 24 years if they halved road traffic deaths and injuries. This has proven to be a powerful advocacy tool for road safety in discussions with many governments, as well as for global advocacy by GRSF, the World Bank and many others.

An impressive over 10,000 professionals were trained under the BIGRS 2015-2019 program in learning activities led by GRSF, or where GRSF contributed. Moreover, as part of this project, GRSF enhanced road safety management capacity in relevant institutions, by providing new technologies to collect and analyze crash data, through the Bank developed DRIVER open-source system.

New Horizons: Reducing Road Crash Deaths and Severe Injuries with the New World Bank– Bloomberg Philanthropies Partnership ⌵︎

In the new BIGRS 2020-2025, GRSF has engaged governments to support their efforts to adopt safer road infrastructure designs and improve existing road networks to accommodate all road users, by conducting assessments of high-risk roads, providing recommendations for safety improvements, providing technical guidance on speed management, and supporting governments to adopt crash data management systems.

This new phase includes activities in the three core areas: Speed Management; Road Infrastructure Safety Assessments; and Data Management, in all 15 program countries.

In addition to saving many thousands of lives, improvements delivered by the BIGRS program –through better speed management, improved mass transit, and facilitation of active mobility– also provide co-benefits by reducing transport related greenhouse gases, air and noise pollution, as well as improving efficiency and inclusion.

Learn more about this initiative here →

Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in more than 570 cities and over 160 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2019, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3.3 billion. The Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) works with the world’s leading road safety organizations to implement road safety activities and coordinate with in-country governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.