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Context

Many countries are looking for ways to ensure that every member of society has the chance to benefit from economic growth. As part of this, they are examining the role that infrastructure has in achieving that goal.

Inclusivity in infrastructure is quickly becoming a key consideration for many governments of both developed and developing nations. This is supported by the international community through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as international conventions. The G20 has had a long-standing focus on infrastructure, and social inclusion is considered to be a key component in the definition of Quality Infrastructure, a priority of the Government of Japan which has the Presidency of the G20 in 2019.

Benefits generated by inclusive infrastructure include reduced inequalities and disparities, which provide the stability to not only boost but also sustain economic growth and social equity in the long-term. However, these benefits can only be achieved if the concept of inclusive infrastructure is implemented in an effective manner.

There is a clear need for a concerted effort to advance the understanding of how best to achieve inclusive infrastructure, in both developed and emerging markets. The initiative by the GI Hub to develop a Reference Tool responds to this need to define and raise awareness of inclusive infrastructure, as well as share best practices to ensure faster and improved implementation of the concept.

Objectives

The overall aim of the Inclusive Infrastructure Reference Tool is to provide practical guidance for governments to help them maximise the inclusivity benefits of their large-scale infrastructure projects. It is intended to be used when developing policy, and planning, designing and implementing such projects, so that the projects help to reduce inequality and promote shared prosperity.

The GI Hub set the following objectives for this project:

• increase awareness of inclusive infrastructure with a practical reference tool;
• provide a framework that clearly defines key activities while also offering flexibility to allow for the long-term development and evolution of the concept of inclusive infrastructure;
• share leading practices to successfully implement inclusivity at a policy and project level, across various sectors and geographies;
• offer an insight into the potential impact in the form of social benefits;
• highlight current and emerging practices that have the potential to create substantial benefits, as well as areas that require further attention and development; and
• provide recommendations on the way forward to ensure that the concept of inclusive infrastructure continues to mature as new practices are developed and tested.

Audience

The Reference Tool is primarily designed for use by government representatives who have an interest in, or mandate to, maximise inclusivity in large-scale infrastructure projects. It is also available to other entities interested in inclusive infrastructure, such as the multilateral and bilateral development banks, the private sector, civil society organisations, academic institutions and the wider public.

Scope

The Reference Tool is meant to serve as a practical tool to help governments and other stakeholders understand and implement the critical success factors that deliver inclusive infrastructure. Accordingly, it provides an actionable framework and practical recommendations based on relevant literature, as well as live project examples and case studies.

The framework and recommendations are deliberately broad, so that the principles and insights can be applied widely in both developed countries and emerging markets, and across different sectors of economic and social infrastructure. Similarly, the Reference Tool has been designed to provide guidance applicable both to projects that are traditionally procured (i.e. ‘public works’ projects) and those that have a greater degree of private sector participation (such as public-private partnerships).

It should also be noted that some practices featured in the tool may not be specific to inclusivity but are mentioned because they form the necessary building blocks to ensure the successful implementation of inclusive infrastructure projects.

The infrastructure sectors covered in this tool are the following:

• transport;
• energy, with a focus on energy supply and access;
• water, with a focus on clean water supply and sanitation;
• information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, with a focus on service accessibility; and
• public buildings and sports facilities.

As a final comment in regard to the scope of the Reference Tool, it is important to emphasise that it deliberately does not focus on the various measures that are used to minimise the negative environmental and social aspects of infrastructure projects, including measures such as the environmental and social ‘safeguard’ policies established by multilateral development banks. Instead, this tool is concerned with the positive steps that can be taken to enhance the benefits of such projects, by adopting and effectively implementing principles of inclusivity.

Structure

The Reference Tool document is structured in four main sections:

• Section 1 provides a definition of Inclusive infrastructure, an overview of the Reference Tool and the methodology used to create it.
• Section 2 sets out the key pillars of inclusive infrastructure, also known as Actions Areas.  This section also details the practices that could be put in place at policy and/or project levels. Six Action Areas are presented, alongside key practices and guidance. Relevant examples and thematic insights are also shared to promote the understanding of these practices and their application to specific sectors.
• Section 3 contains a brief conclusion and outlines the way forward. Inclusive infrastructure is a concept that will continue to develop, and several recommendations are shared to help inform the next steps.
• Section 4 presents the Case Studies. They showcase projects that have embedded inclusivity at various stages of development and implementation, covering several Action Areas and practices across different geographies and sectors.

Defining Inclusive Infrastructure

As a first step towards greater acceptance of the concept and the benefits of inclusive infrastructure, there is a need to establish a clear definition to be used by practitioners. In this tool, inclusive infrastructure is defined as follows:

The Framework for Inclusive Infrastructure

The Framework for Inclusive Infrastructure summarises the following six Actions Areas and related practices that ought to be considered for the systematic implementation of inclusivity in infrastructure at the policy and project levels:

Conclusion

The analysis and guidance presented in this Reference Tool aim to help governments accelerate the development and implementation of inclusive infrastructure policies and projects.

The Framework for Inclusive Infrastructure presented in this Reference Tool identifies six key pillars driving inclusive growth. The six key pillars, i.e. the Action Areas”, are then discussed in detail, in a manner that allows governments to identify potential initiatives at policy, program and project levels.

Critical success factors include:

• The placement of stakeholder identification and engagement at the forefront of inclusive infrastructure initiatives. The use of disaggregated identification data, and of proactive consultations with citizens, is essential to developing a full understanding of which groups of citizens are at risk of being excluded from receiving the benefits of infrastructure services, and in developing solutions to the barriers which they face.
• Political leadership that champions social inclusion and inclusive governance. Governments must ensure that public officials receive the training necessary to properly identify and address the infrastructure needs of all citizens.
• The use of transparent and accountable systems that help develop trust between the government and society.
• The integration of policy, regulation and standards into project implementation. Universal Design principles are increasingly being used as a minimum standard in infrastructure contracts. Accessibility audits can help to identify and address problematic issues in a proposed infrastructure project at an early stage, at a time when such issues can be more easily addressed.
• An inclusive lifecycle approach should be used throughout the project planning, development, and delivery stages of infrastructure projects. A Social Equity Plan can set out the agreed actions and targets at each step in a project’s lifespan.
• The alignment of infrastructure projects with wider inclusive development policies, such as inclusive urban development plans.
• The appropriate use of incentives and regulatory mechanisms to align the private sector role with inclusivity objectives. The private sector is also likely to play an increasing role in introducing innovations and new technologies that can assist in meeting the specific needs of disadvantaged groups.
• A focus on issues of inclusion and affordability in infrastructure project business cases, with a careful analysis of financial assistance and the use of subsidies.

The eight case studies presented of this Reference Tool illustrate the challenges faced by many groups in society in regard to access to infrastructure services, and successful efforts in addressing those challenges, such as the initiatives taken in connection with Peru’s El Metropolitano BRT system to deal with the problem of harassment faced by women using public transport. As outlined in the report, inclusive infrastructure is a concept that is evolving, and that will likely continue to do so. The following paragraphs present some of the areas for further development, to promote learning on maximising the benefits from inclusive infrastructure. The GI Hub hopes that this Reference Tool will be a stimulus to further discussion of this topic, and very much welcomes any reader feedback and suggestions.

Areas for further development

Defining the relationship between inclusivity and sustainability

Much of the current literature refers to “inclusive and sustainable” infrastructure in one breath. The two terms are, of course, closely linked, but there is a need to better distinguish and define the relationship between inclusivity and sustainability. Sustainability deals with challenges such as environmental impacts, climate change and disaster resilience, which, in many instances, disproportionately affect vulnerable groups of people. Accordingly, addressing these issues as part of the wider inclusivity agenda can help to ensure that vulnerable segments of the population are identified, and appropriate mitigation measures are put in place.

In June 2019, the G20 Leaders endorsed the Principles of Quality Infrastructure Investment, one of which is 'Integrating social considerations in infrastructure investment', providing the opportunity to more clearly define this relationship and reference relevant supporting resources.

Accordingly, the QII Database was developed in collaboration with the GI Hub, the OECD and the World Bank and includes resources and facilities relevant to Quality Infrastructure Investment under the Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment - sustainable growth and development, economic efficiency, environmental considerations, building resilience, social considerations and infrastructure governance.

Establish new success measurement and monitoring for inclusive development

While economic growth has been an important driver in reducing poverty, governments are identifying a need to go beyond a definition of socioeconomic development that reflects only the systematic use of GDP growth. In response to concerns about increasing income gaps, distrust in public institutions, disruption of political stability and civil unrest, some governments and international financial institutions have begun to explore the use of inclusive infrastructure to help address these broader concerns.

To measure inclusive development, some new metrics have been proposed, but these new metrics still need to be further evaluated and quantified. An example is the recent Inclusive Development Index (IDI)^[190] developed by the World Economic Forum. The IDI conveys a more integrated sense of the relative state of economic development and performance than the conventional indicators based on GDP per capita. It ranks countries based on their performance of making their growth more inclusive.

Additional inclusive development indicators could help provide the evidence base for monitoring the wider impacts of infrastructure programs and projects.

In addition, new indicators could help to assess the ability of such programs and projects to contribute towards the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Further define inclusivity KPIs at infrastructure project level, and monitor inclusivity benefits

The alignment of private sector incentives with objectives around inclusion is discussed in Action Area 5 of the Reference Tool. To achieve this alignment in the case of public-private partnership transactions, careful consideration needs to be given to the output specifications and measurable KPIs that governments develop for each infrastructure project. Additional guidance on this topic will be provided in the forthcoming GI Hub guidance note on Output Specifications for Quality Infrastructure PPPs^[191].

Improvements in monitoring the benefits of inclusive infrastructure would also strengthen the understanding of their value, thereby enabling better quantification of benefits in the business cases of future infrastructure projects. Currently, the lack of reliable data quantifying the benefits of inclusivity is a common issue across virtually all infrastructure sectors.

Making inclusive infrastructure attractive to social impact investors^[192]

The potential role of social impact investment in infrastructure has not been fully examined, since many social impact investment programs have, to date, focused on smaller community initiatives rather than large infrastructure projects. Increasingly, however, infrastructure investors are becoming concerned with economic, social and governance (ESG) issues, and this may lead to more social impact investing in infrastructure. In the business case for inclusive infrastructure projects, a social dimension complements the economic and financial dimensions and this complementarity may be particularly attractive to social impact investors.

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