Abstract for: Development of a group model building-based workshop for an ex-post process evaluation of local mobility services

Austrian government aims to reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector close to zero in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. To achieve this goal, the implementation of pilot action and research into their effectiveness is encouraged, regarding for example flexible on-demand mobility services. An evaluation of the implementation process for local mobility services can help to identify barriers and driving forces. However, process evaluation is rarely conducted in transport and if so, most often standardised templates are used that only provide superficial results. We developed and tested an alternative approach to process evaluation: a group model building-based ex-post process evaluation workshop that uses systems thinking principles and participatory system dynamics modeling techniques to include different stakeholder perspectives upon the implementation process. In this article, we provide a description of the workshop and the findings regarding usability, time-efficiency and added value from the participants point of view. The workshops provided rich causal loop diagrams and an understanding about driving forces, barriers and their interconnectedness among the participants. Participants expressed high satisfaction with the results of the workshops. We therefore posit systems-thinking based process evaluation to be a valuable approach to support learning for the implementation of local mobility projects.