A Systems-based Approach to Creating Value from Infrastructure Interdependencies

Current planning and appraisal processes treat infrastructure as discrete, sector-specific assets, and as a consequence fail to identify and exploit potentially valuable interdependencies. Similarly, these silo-based approaches are unable to identify potentially hazardous and costly interdependencies in a systematic manner. A major challenge then for providers of modern infrastructure, is to realise the innovative opportunities in interdependencies, and so increase value-for-money, sustainability and resilience. To achieve this it is necessary to recognise that real-world infrastructure ‘systems’ are highly interconnected, both with each other and with the socio-economic and natural systems in which they are located. This paper presents a focused set of the findings from a research partnership between the University of Bristol and University College London, sponsored by HM Treasury in the UK. It proposes an ‘open-systems’, cross-sectoral approach to create and manage beneficial infrastructure interdependencies, and comprises a framework of principles (‘stewardship’, ‘shared-governance’ and ‘interdiscipliniarity’), and associated and systems-based tools. These have been applied to four case studies relating to the UK’s National Infrastructure Programme, three of which are summarized in this paper.