Enabling Better Infrastructure

Define national needs (public, stakeholders, infrastructure, other)

• South Africa developed its National Development Plan (NDP) to define its national needs (infrastructure, social and economic). The NDP formed South Africa’s first step in creating an infrastructure strategy.
• Curaçao used the National Infrastructure Systems Model (NISMOD) to define the country’s national infrastructure needs including key requirements for energy, water and solid waste. NISMOD not only identified what Curaçao’s needs were, but also how they could be delivered on.
• Malaysia’s national development plan outlines its long-term infrastructure needs. Malaysia produces a development plan every four years to ensure it is delivering on its most pressing needs.

Establish country-specific factors

• South Africa acknowledged its country-specific infrastructure considerations in its National Development Plan (NDP). The NDP outlined the country’s infrastructure challenges and the steps needed to address them.
• The Netherlands used a Multi-Year Programme for Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Transport (MIRT) to set out key recommendations for overcoming its constrained supply of land, which was identified as a key risk to infrastructure planning and implementation.
• Hong Kong re-defined its long-term infrastructure objectives, shifting from poverty reduction and improving basic services to enhancing environmental sustainability.

Map interdependencies between infrastructure networks

• New Zealand used its National Vulnerability Assessment to map the country’s infrastructure independencies. All critical infrastructure networks and linkages were identified, and clear steps were set out to boost resilience across all infrastructure networks.
• Turkana County, Kenya, mapped interdependencies between infrastructure networks using Capacity Assessment Tool for Infrastructure (CAT-I), creating a starting point for breaking down sectoral silos in the infrastructure planning process.

Factor in outcomes and what other supporting measures are needed

• Nepal identified the need to boost human capacity to rebuild infrastructure after the country’s 2015 earthquake.

Review the relevance of existing objectives

• Malaysia assesses the relevance of its national objectives every four years as part of its wider national development programme.

Incorporate country-specific considerations (politics, geography, economy)

• Malaysia recognises its evolving country-specific considerations as part of its national development programme. Regularly reviewing country-specific factors ensures long-term social, economic and environmental needs are met.

Use the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as a supporting framework

• Curaçao used the UN SDGs as a framework to develop its national infrastructure strategy. Curaçao set out a package of investments to help address its infrastructure needs.
• Hong Kong used the UN SDGs to maximise the social value of its infrastructure. This involved aligning infrastructure priorities with the UN SDGs to enhance the sustainability of cities and communities.
• Singapore conduced a voluntary review on its progress to achieving the UN SDGs. The review helped the country understand what further actions were required to meet the 2030 UN SDG target.

Identify a measure of affordability

• The UK uses a fiscal remit to prioritise major infrastructure projects. Using a fiscal remit ensures infrastructure is funded with financial sustainability in mind.

Use affordability measures to consider fiscal and budgetary concerns

• Taiwan's National Development Council calculated the affordability of infrastructure to help decide which large infrastructure projects were funded.

Identify revised strategic objectives

• The UK’s National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) assessed the needs of the economy, infrastructure and society in the UK’s national infrastructure assessment. The needs outlined in the assessment were reviewed and refined in its second iteration.

Assess the needs of stakeholders, infrastructure, and the economy

• New Zealand assessed its infrastructure needs to boost social outcomes, including understanding what was needed to strengthen its circular economy and disaster risk management.
• The UK’s National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) assessed the needs of the economy, infrastructure and society in the UK’s national infrastructure assessment. The assessment included multi-factor and cross-sectoral review.
• Saint Lucia used its National Infrastructure Assessment to identify pressing social needs, including what is needed to enhance resilience to natural hazards.

Assess the performance of current infrastructure to identify gaps

• Egypt conducted a gap analysis to understand where investment was needed in its transport network.
• The UK assessed the condition of its infrastructure assets. The outcome, which identified key gaps, allowed the country to maximise the social, environmental, and economic value of infrastructure services.
• Australia assessed the performance of its current infrastructure assets by carrying out an Infrastructure Audit. Conducted every 5 years, the audit boosts the effectiveness of infrastructure services provided across its sectors.

Take account of local of regional strategies

• The Netherlands used the Multi-Year Programme for Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Transport (MIRT) to boost coordination between national and regional strategies to meet the needs of all stakeholders.

Take account of options for addressing gaps

• Australia assessed its infrastructure service needs, which unlocked a wide range of options addressing infrastructure gaps. Wherever possible, the country follows a ‘do minimum’ best case.

Consider no-build, retrofit and repurposing options

• France repurposed part of its road network during the Covid-19 pandemic to meet its evolving infrastructure needs allowing the country to make its roads more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians.

Consider co-ordination with subnational or sectoral plans

• The Netherlands used it's Multi-Year Programme for Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Transport (MIRT) to boost coordination between national and regional governments to meet the needs of all stakeholders.

Complete a final assessment and set a baseline

• The UK’s needs assessment, led by its National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), set a baseline for the country's national infrastructure strategy.

Define a national approach to developing a strategy

• New Zealand set up a systematic framework for developing its infrastructure strategy. The framework outlined key responsibilities for the government and New Zealand Infrastructure Commission to boost accountability.

Assess costs and benefits

• UK developed a green book to assess the costs and benefits of infrastructure projects, providing an objective basis to support decision making. Valuation includes land use, infrastructure assets, natural capital and travel time.
• Norway developed guidelines to assess the costs and benefits of all public measures, including infrastructure.

Consider funding or financing options

• Before the war, the Ukrainian government worked with an external finance organisation to understand its financing options to build and modernise its seaports. The methodology used was earmarked for forty other critical infrastructure projects.
• Guinea-Bissau used its needs assessment to attract external financing for infrastructure.
• Taiwan used its Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Programme to assess the country's funding and financing options for infrastructure. The programme took into account eight key infrastructure sectors.

Consider capacity, skills, and training needs

• The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) helps governments to develop infrastructure strategies using its Capacity Assessment Tool for Infrastructure (CAT-I). CAT-I helps governments plan, deliver and manage their infrastructure systems.

Outline milestones and data needed for evaluating success, with clear feedback loops to inform future planning

• Wales used the UN SDG-led wellness goals as a key milestone for measuring progress made on infrastructure objectives. The country has six wellness goals, with a focus on resilience, social wellbeing, inclusion and prosperity.

Identify risks to implementation, including any financing, technical and delivery bottlenecks

• Nepal use the Capacity Assessment Tool for Infrastructure (CAT-I) to identify what was needed to boost its human resource capacity to accelerate recovery after its 2015 earthquake.

Develop the strategy

• South Africa used its National Development Plan (NDP) to develop a long-term infrastructure strategy to deliver on its socio-economic needs.
• New Zealand developed an infrastructure strategy to provide long-term direction on how to overcome periods of infrastructure disinvestment and cost pressures.
• The UK developed a National Infrastructure Strategy (NIS) to provide clarity on the steps required to deliver on its infrastructure needs. The NIS outlined key investment targets to ensure the UK delivers on its infrastructure targets.

Consult on the strategy

• Norway created opportunities for gathering insights from a range of external stakeholders on the selection and appraisal of transport projects.

Embed use of strategy across departments, agencies and bodies

• St Lucia set up the National Integrated Planning and Programme Unit (NIPP) to embed the country’s infrastructure strategy across departments, agencies and bodies, where it helped to co-ordinate the delivery of infrastructure.
• Australia used a regional and international Infrastructure Bodies (I-Bodies) forum to embed strategic planning across its various departments and agencies supporting a long-term approach to infrastructure planning.