Marsh, A; Ersoy, A; (2018) Infrastructure Governance for the 21st Century.

Abstract

This White Paper should be of interest to policy-makers, decision-makers and practitioners in the planning, delivery and operation of infrastructure in the UK and internationally, and researchers and commentators interested in infrastructure governance. The Paper adopts an inclusive understanding of infrastructure planning, and so is applicable across the whole of the UK despite the increasing divergence between statutory planning processes in the different nations within the UK. This White Paper aims to review some of the key themes in the governance literature and highlight their potential relevance to thinking about infrastructure governance in the twenty-first century. Key Messages from the White Paper  The concept of reflexive governance provides a framework, drawing on systems thinking, for thinking about governance processes that engages squarely with questions of problem framing and purpose, competing values and their deliberative alignment, and ongoing processes of external and internal learning during development, delivery and termination of infrastructure systems.  Application of reflective governance in the context of infrastructure interdependencies opens up question of collaboration at scale and of effective and inclusive institutional design. It keeps broader questions of purpose, value and benefit in play alongside more detailed questions of delivery and financing.  Drawing insights from the literature on transition management and governance can help us map out a course to establishing and more firmly embedding new approaches to infrastructure.