Abstract

Over the last decade, Oman has experienced a significant increase in the numbers of people killed and injured on its roads. In fact, road injuries between 2003 and 2011 rose from 6735 to 11,437, which was a substantial 70% increase (Royal Omani Police, 2012). According to the WHO 2nd Global status report on road safety published in 2013, Oman has a rate of 30.4 deaths per 1 00 000.

In response to the country’s high traffic fatality and injury rate, the board of the Research Council of Oman established the Road Safety Research Program (RSRP). Its purpose was to provide evidence-based data to assist the relevant decision makers in their discussions, whilst formulating legislation, policies and action plans at different levels for government programs.

The main purpose of this research is to design an evaluation theoretical framework that promotes and enables effective evaluation strategies. Additionally and most importantly, recognises the cultural context in which this program will be operational.

This study has used a qualitative approach to data gathering through individual interviews within a general exploratory framework. The seventeen people who were interviewed represent governmental policy makers, academics, and clerics. The study identified the key characteristics of existing evaluation approaches that are based on western perspectives and therefore led to the proposal for a combined model. The appropriateness and validity of the proposed model was then explored through a fieldwork process in Oman and further refined utilising the fieldwork data obtained. The study findings suggest that the socio-cultural perspectives and characteristics of Oman and its population had not been adequately considered.