National infrastructure systems (energy, transport, water, waste and ICT) in advanced economies face serious challenges. The National Infrastructure Plan (NIP), the first iteration of which was published in October 2010 and the second in November 2011, acknowledges that a step change is needed in the level of investment in UK infrastructure, to secure our future energy supply, mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and drive forward economic growth. These reports, as well as others such as the 2011 Engineering the Future and 2009 Council for Science and Technology reports, identified significant vulnerabilities, capacity limitations and a number of national infrastructure components nearing the end of their useful life. They also highlight serious fragmentation in the arrangements for infrastructure provision in the UK. There is an urgent need to reduce carbon emissions from infrastructure, to respond to future demographic, social and lifestyle changes and to build resilience to intensifying impacts of climate change.
The transformation of national infrastructure must be efficient whilst minimising the associated risks, and will need to be underpinned by a long-term, cross-sectoral approach to understanding national infrastructure performance under a range of possible futures. The ITRC will provide the theoretical research, models and practical decision support tools to enable strategic analysis and planning of a national infrastructure system fit for the 21st Century.
The transformation of national infrastructure must be efficient whilst minimising the associated risks, and will need to be underpinned by a long-term, cross-sectoral approach to understanding national infrastructure performance under a range of possible futures. The Infrastucture Transitions Research Consortium (ITRC) will provide the theoretical research, models and practical decision support tools to enable strategic analysis and planning of a national infrastructure system fit for the 21st Century.
This half day conference will disseminate the results from the Fast Track Analysis. It will:
- present the new conceptual framework that has been developed for long term strategic analysis of national infrastructure systems
- provide a cross-sectoral overview of UK infrastructure sectors (energy, transport, water, waste, ICT), future prospects, risks and opportunities
- review governance arrangements and future challenges for national infrastructure provision
- identify high level drivers of change within the UK's infrastructure systems, including the demands of a changing population, economic growth and increasing energy costs
- present preliminary results from analysis of future infrastructure demand
- present cross-sectoral strategies for national infrastructure provision and preliminary assessment of these strategies
- update on how the ITRC will be continuing its research programme to build upon the lessons identified from the Fast Track Analysis
