In 1998, The World Road Association (PIARC) was entrusted by the stakeholders of the ISOHDM Project (International Study of Highway Development and Management) with the intellectual property rights of the software system known as HDM-4. Accordingly it has co-financed the development work culminating in HDM-4 Version 2.

The World Road Association Council, on the recommendation of the General Secretariat of PIARC, decided in 2004 to set up a service concession for the management, development, marketing, sales and support of HDM-4 Version 2 software. Following a call for competitive proposals and after careful evaluation the contract was awarded to HDMGlobal, an international consortium centred on the University of Birmingham.

Commitments of the concessionaire are defined by this contract and include:

• Organisation of the dissemination of the HDM-4 technology;
• Dissemination and update of the technical documentation;
• Sales and distribution of the HDM-4 Version 2 software and documentation;
• Assistance and services to users;
• Dedicated Internet Website;
• Organisation of an HDM4 Users' Club;
• Organisation of training courses and workshops;
• Corrections, updates and evolution of the software.