A year of impact: how EBI helped governments plan for a better future

Ever wonder how a country can plan infrastructure long-term when its government changes every election? How small islands cope with climate threats? How projects can go wrong when communities aren’t involved from the beginning?

These questions were answered at the Enabling Better Infrastructure international conference.

In October, infrastructure experts from countries including New Zealand, Saint Lucia, Canada, Brazil, Wales, Hong Kong, and Chile, shared their experiences.

The conference brought together over 100 people from around the world and showcased the importance of strategic infrastructure planning.

This is just one of the many accomplishments the programme had this year.

Here’s what else EBI has achieved in 2025:

1. Supporting countries with bespoke advice 

EBI has continued its work with New Zealand and Peru to strengthen their long-term infrastructure plans.

New Zealand 

The EBI network has been helping the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission (NZIC), Te Waihanga, develop its 30-year plan for infrastructure.

The plan sets out how infrastructure will help people, places, and businesses in New Zealand thrive for the next three decades and beyond.

This year, EBI travelled to Wellington to assess the development of the draft plan.

The EBI team’s feedback is expected to inform the final plan in 2026.

Peru

Since partnering with the Peruvian Ministry of Economy and Finance in 2024, EBI has worked with the country to strengthen the delivery of its third infrastructure plan.

This year, the team ran two dialogues – tailored sessions with EBI specialists – focusing on prioritising infrastructure needs across regions and refining the current plan by learning from past projects.

The EBI team is looking forward to continuing this collaboration in 2026.

2. Strengthening a global network

2025 was a year of building a stronger peer network.

Governments recognise the EBI programme’s impact on shaping their infrastructure strategies.

They particularly value EBI for clear, proven steps, accessible guidance, and international examples of best practice.

By growing the international community of government leaders committed to improving infrastructure planning in their countries, EBI created a trusted environment for them to openly share and learn from each other.

The programme organised a number of events to strengthen its global network.

In October, a roundtable at the British Embassy in Dubai was held alongside the UK government and industry representatives from across the region.

EBI international conference 

The highlight for the EBI international network was this autumn’s conference on the importance of strategic infrastructure planning.

It showed that countries around the world are struggling with the same challenges, and there are already some shared approaches that can offer valuable insights.

Here are some lessons and takeaways from the day:

• Political risk is ever present and universal. It must be considered early in the planning stages alongside other key risks such as economic and environmental.
• Government silos must be broken down to avoid bottlenecks further on in the infrastructure lifecycle.
• Public involvement and engagement is key and should be central to identifying infrastructure needs.
• Actionable pipelines that lead to the delivery of projects are fundamental to whether an infrastructure plan succeeds.
• We must encourage better planning and project selection to avoid inaction or delays.
• The environment should be central to all infrastructure conversations, with nature-based considered from the very start.

The full recording of the conference is available on the ICE website.

The next evolution of EBI guidance

The conference also saw the launch of updated EBI guidance – aimed at driving purpose, certainty, and pace in strategic infrastructure planning.

The updated guidance reflects insights gathered from working directly with 26 governments who have applied it in practice.

A detailed account of these learnings is also included in the EBI insights paper, Working with governments to strengthen strategic infrastructure planning, which was published earlier this year.

Emerging themes, such as governance, spatial planning, value for money, and delivery, informed the new guidance.

The three core components of the guidance – the eight guiding principles, the three-step planning process and the gap assessment tool - have all been refined.

3. Capturing insights from engagements

Through working with government officials, international organisations, and other influential stakeholders, EBI gains insights into the opportunities and challenges facing infrastructure decision-makers today.

A new insights paper, How can governments plan for sustainable infrastructure?, stemmed from three joint EBI events with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Speakers included past and present government officials from Spain, South Africa, Rwanda, Peru, and Ukraine, and the events attracted over 250 participants from more than 45 countries.

Building on learnings from these sessions, the paper explains how prioritising skills, financing and data and digital solutions can help governments create a more sustainable future.

Looking ahead to 2026

The EBI programme isn’t finished yet.

Governments around the world increasingly recognise the importance of strategic infrastructure planning and are keen to turn insights into action.

The EBI team has already planned two new dialogues for 2026.

And throughout next year, the programme will continue sharing case studies and international learning, showcasing best practice in infrastructure planning around the world.

Please visit the EBI page to keep up to date with the latest information.  

Find out more about the EBI Programme and its eight guiding principles.