In recent years, intensive work has been carried out on the "ROADS to Health" research project. National and international data, scientific findings and experience from the COVID-19 pandemic have been systematically analysed in order to better understand and evaluate both short-term effects and long-term impacts on crisis situations. The aim of the project was to develop a technology-based decision support system (tools) for optimised crisis management in the event of future epidemics and pandemics. The focus was on an overall societal perspective in order to enable well-founded, effective and sustainable measures.

A key result is a concept for measure management that uses an innovative tool to support decision-makers in flexibly adapting the necessary measures to the respective epidemiological situation. The developed measure matching is designed in such a way that it can be set up on the existing "Portfolio of Solutions" (POS) framework platform.

The POS platform enables user-friendly and clear dashboard displays for targeted and needs-based analyses, models and decision-making bases by means of semi-automated links. This supports structured, evidence-based decision-making, which makes a significant contribution to optimising crisis management in Austria.

All the factors shown were taken into account in the ROADS decision support tool in order to enable evidence-based and socially informed decisions. The cogwheels in the centre of the figure represent changing and mutually influencing aspects that are specified and/or proposed in the measure matching. The surrounding elements represent central framework parameters that act as dynamic social influences on the concept.

The second half of the project focussed on the development and testing of the demonstrator tool. The demonstrator was validated and further developed in close dialogue with renowned stakeholders. By combining practical experience from crisis management with scientific findings and the requirements of critical infrastructures, a forward-looking concept design was created.

"ROADS to Health" combines findings from the COVID-19 pandemic with scientific expertise and the requirements of critical infrastructures. The resulting concept is not only applicable to epidemics and pandemics, but can also provide valuable support in other crisis and disaster scenarios.

Thanks to the interdisciplinary collaboration of high-ranking organisations and the involvement of renowned stakeholders, it was possible to develop a holistic approach that can significantly improve pandemic management in the future. The project has shown how a technology-based decision support system facilitates the analysis of complex scenarios and supports the implementation of measures in a targeted manner.

The "ROADS to Health" project was successfully completed in March 2025. The objectives defined in the project were fully achieved over the entire duration and proved to be realistic and still relevant, which was also confirmed by the experts involved.

The successful implementation of all work packages and the positive feedback from stakeholders and users clearly demonstrated the potential of the solutions developed. Building on this, strategies for the further utilisation and exploitation of the project results were developed to ensure the sustainable connectivity of the project.

"ROADS to Health" was funded by the Federal Ministry of Finance as part of the KIRAS programme and implemented by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG).

Valuable insights and feedback were gathered from the experts on the ROADS Advisory Board in numerous interactive stakeholder workshops. The increased collaboration with selected stakeholders not only led to the optimisation of interim results, but also helped to further sharpen the larger project goals and confirm the strategic direction of the project. The following table provides an overview of the ROADS Advisory Board experts who have agreed to their names being published.

The project team has worked intensively on dissemination activities for the project content. Through a variety of public appearances, publications and presentations, the preliminary findings and successes were shared with a wide audience. These endeavours not only contributed to the public visibility of the project, but also promoted the exchange of knowledge within the specialist community.