The TPS announces the launch of its 2025 bursary competition!

The Transport Planning Society is delighted to announce the launch of its 2025 edition of the Bursary competition.

The TPS Bursary competition encourages younger members of TPS to produce a structured written paper on a topic of current relevance to transport planning.

You will be supported by a mentor appointed by the TPS Board who will be a senior member of the profession. 

If your proposed title is accepted, you will be asked to write a full 5,000 word paper with the help of your mentor and present it at a special meeting of TPS Board members in January 2026. On successful completion of your paper and presentation, you will receive £500 and be featured in a TPS news item. The best submitted paper will also receive the “Bursary of the Year” engraved award and an additional £250 prize.

This year's Bursary takes the theme of: 

The Integration Imperative: How can we make a reality of connecting Policy, Places and People?

Whether you're drawing on case studies, evaluations of existing/past schemes, or primary data collection, you can respond to one of the guiding questions below or choose a related angle that interests you:

• What are the key integration challenges transport planners will face in the next 10 years, and how can we address them?

• Which tools, methods or frameworks can help align priorities across different levels of governance?

• What innovations show the most promise in breaking down silos between policy, places and people? These might include behaviour change, technology or other innovations…

The theme relates to the 2025 Transport Planning Day campaign on making a positive impact through transport planning by connecting Policy, Places and People. Even if your idea is still being formed, we are keen to hear from you - there will be opportunities to shape your proposal or research question with input from mentors or members of the TPS Board.

To apply attach a proposal of no more than 500 words to the application form below, setting out how you will address this topic and why you think it’s important. 

The deadline for applying to take part in this year’s competition is Friday 25th July 2025. To apply to take part, please fill in the application form here and follow the guidance uploaded here.