The Paris Region Institute, together with the State and the Île-de-France Region, is launching an observatory to improve knowledge and understanding of the Paris Region freight and logistics ecosystem.

The State, the Île-de-France Region and the Institut Paris Région have joined forces to set up the Observatoire Francilien du Fret et de la Logistique (OFELIF). "Its aim is to develop a shared culture of freight and logistics across the region, to inform decision-making by politicians and all players in the sector", says the institute in a press release.

To enrich its future work, the observatory will gradually draw on a network of players with an interest in the freight and logistics sector. The latter will undertake to contribute to the observatory's operation by signing a "partners" charter. The aim of the observatory is to improve knowledge and understanding of the freight and logistics ecosystem in the Paris region, focusing in particular on 4 key themes:

• Freight transport, all modes combined
• Land and real estate dedicated to logistics activities
• Environmental issues related to logistics activities
• Socio-economic issues

An observatory as a resource center

With a view to improving knowledge, the observatory will act as a regional resource center for data, studies and other work relating to the freight and logistics ecosystem in the Paris region. The aim is to provide resources that can be used to cross-fertilize viewpoints, feed into projects and inform the decisions of all stakeholders involved in the development and planning of the Paris region.

As such, the Observatory's mission is to :

• Gather and share information, data, methodologies, studies and other work that has hitherto been dispersed, in order to build a common, rigorous knowledge base;
• Promote the sharing of ideas between observation structures on issues such as methodology, data production and future research topics;
• Maintain an active watch, by referencing and synthesizing available knowledge and facilitating the dissemination and presentation of published and forthcoming studies.

Via a dedicated website, OFELIF offers a data dashboard, sectoral studies and dynamic cartography for localized visualization of available data on freight infrastructure and flows, logistics jobs and companies, and the road freight transport fleet.

In addition, OFELIF's work is linked to the creation of a national logistics dashboard piloted by the DGITM and the Université Gustave Eiffel, and to that of observatories in neighboring regions.

 RENAUD CHASLE