SCUDO groundbreaking research wins “Best Paper” award at ICCSA 2026

4 July 2026–  SCUDO innovative research work was awarded “Best Paper” at the 26th International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications (ICCSA 2026) that took place in the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, from 30 June to 3 July 2026. SCUDO research partner Francesco Bruzzone, from University of Venice (IUAV), represented the co-authors receiving the award and presented the groundbreaking work on transport vulnerability in Europe.

Bruzzone’s has presented the award-winner paper “Transport Disruption Vulnerability in Europe: Who Is Worse Off?”, from  the book “Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2026 Workshops”, published by Springer. The paper was developed collaboratively by Francesco Bruzzone (IUAV), Constantinos Antoniou from Technical University of Munich (TUM), Silvio Nocera (IUAV), and Hamza Begic (TUM)

This paper was selected for the “Best Paper” award at ICCSA 2026 following a rigorous process. It first passed double-blind peer review for originality, methodology, and relevance. The final selection was made by session chairs and committee members, who recognized the work for both its written quality and the impact of its live presentation and audience engagement.

Bruzzone’s presentation at the ICCSA 2026, titled ‘Transport Disruption Vulnerability in Europe: Who Is Worse Off?’, took place during the Evaluating Inner Areas Potential (EIAP) workshop, hosted by the Polytechnic University of Turin, and introduced a dual-scale analytical framework. The talk opened by defining transport vulnerability not as simple lack of mobility supply, but as a multidimensional condition shaped by exposure to disruptions, sensitivity to impacts, and capacity to anticipate, adapt, and recover. He then presented two complementary analyses: an EU-wide statistical assessment across three pillars:

  • workforce adaptability, transport affordability and choice;
  • public transport resilience using COVID-19 as a stress test;
  • and a regional analysis of Friuli Venezia Giulia using cell-phone data to compare mobility patterns between inner and non-inner areas.

The key insight delivered at the presentation session was:

Vulnerability is not distributed randomly. Instead, it follows clear patterns shaped by the interaction of transport systems, labour markets, and local conditions.

The interdisciplinary audience posed questions on methodology (entropy-based analysis, Eurostat data, and cell-phone data integration) and on substantive findings on which populations face greatest transport vulnerability. Attendees also inquired about SCUDO’s scope, partners, and mission to develop disruption-resilient transport operations across Europe.

One of the most interesting findings of the research paper, from a scientific point of view, is the emergence of four distinct national vulnerability profiles during transport disruptions when comparing the adaptability of the workforce with access to car ownership. The most critical profile is the “vulnerable hotspot” of countries like Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia, where limited remote work options and low car ownership leave populations with no coping mechanism during transport disruptions. Equally significant is Italy’s position in a “car-dependent” quadrant alongside Croatia, Germany, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. High car ownership combined with limited remote work capacity creates hidden fragility: households remain exposed to fuel price shocks or mobility disruptions precisely because no robust public transport alternative exists.

At the regional level, analysis of Friuli Venezia Giulia using cell-phone data revealed that inner-area residents have systematically less dispersed mobility throughout the year compared to non-inner areas. This gap widens further for women and during winter months, when seasonal tourism no longer offers compensating travel opportunities. These patterns point to differentiated policy needs: high-transit countries can rely on fare subsidies and ticketing reforms, while car-dependent and structurally underserved regions require infrastructure investment and modal redundancy.

The research fulfils a critical piece of SCUDO’s mission by identifying which populations and territories face greatest exposure to transport disruptions, explaining why that vulnerability exists, and providing a replicable, multi-scalar framework. This vulnerability mapping is foundational for designing targeted, disruption-resilient interventions and translating theory into actionable, territorially differentiated transport policy.

In sharing his perspective on the this topic author Francesco Bruzzone emphasizes the crucial relationship between vulnerability and resilience, arguing that they must be seen as interdependent. Bruzzone highlights that effective resilience policy depends on first identifying who is vulnerable and understanding the reasons behind their vulnerability. Bruzzone also acknowledges the study’s methodological limitations, noting that reliance on national-level indicators and the absence of certain variables, such as trip purpose or transport mode, restrict the ability to establish full causal links. This context, he suggests, is essential for accurately interpreting the research outcomes.

This research advances SCUDO’s core mission and provides concrete evidence for building more resilient, equitable transport systems across Europe. It demonstrates how scientific analysis, combined with practical policy relevance, can translate disruption-resilience theory into actionable interventions.

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