This GIR working paper finds that infrastructure resilience is fundamentally a governance challenge, not merely a technical one. Reliable services depend on coordinated institutions, clear mandates, risk-informed planning, resilient financing, updated codes and standards, strong regulatory oversight, and sustained stakeholder engagement.
Case studies show that countries achieving stronger resilience integrate disaster and climate risks into investment decisions, asset management, emergency preparedness, and recovery. The paper recommends mainstreaming resilience across infrastructure agencies through dedicated leadership, accountability, budgets, and performance systems. Governments should strengthen coordination among finance, planning, disaster management, regulators, local authorities, private operators, communities, academia, and professional associations.
Priorities include modernizing codes, enforcing standards, expanding capacity building, improving hazard data systems, addressing cascading risks across sectors, embedding resilience in public investment frameworks, and using institutional assessments to identify gaps, guide reforms, and build long-term adaptive capacity .
Key points
- Governance determines infrastructure resilience and outcomes.
- Infrastructure resilience requires coordinated action across public and private stakeholders.
- Risk-informed planning, financing, and maintenance strengthen resilience across systems.
- Updated codes, standards, and enforcement reduce losses and disruptions effectively.
- Capacity building needs sustained investment in people and institutions.
- Regular assessments identify gaps, prioritize reforms, and strengthen adaptive capacity.
