InfraCompass 2020 improves data-driven decision making

As the divergence between the demand for infrastructure and the ability of governments to deliver continues to widen, the need for practical solutions becomes all the more imperative.

In keeping with our mission to support the G20 to drive an ambitious infrastructure agenda, InfraCompass 2020 harnesses data from leading organisations around the world - including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, and the OECD - to assist countries to identify reforms that lead to better infrastructure investment.

InfraCompass 2020 is an online tool and report that quantifies the strength of the infrastructure enabling environment for 81 countries, collectively representing 93% of global GDP and 86% of the global population. Following our original InfraCompass tool, InfraCompass 2020 is the first edition to rank countries’ performance against the drivers of quality infrastructure (Governance, Regulatory Frameworks, Permits, Planning, Procurement, Activity, Funding Capacity and Financial Markets) and to show their performance over time. This allows countries to identify benchmarks and understand the options for better practice from across the globe.

By sharing leading infrastructure practices, InfraCompass 2020 helps to encourage openness, transparency and greater dialogue among countries, and their communities, on reforms to deliver better quality infrastructure.

Introducing country rankings

Countries are ranked against each of the eight drivers of quality infrastructure, providing a wealth of insights into specific areas of strength and revealing opportunities for improvement. Here we share for the first time the top performing country for each of the drivers of quality infrastructure.

What are the other key features of InfraCompass 2020?

More countries, more data: We have expanded InfraCompass 2020 to include assessment of an additional 25 countries, including five from the Pacific Islands.

Two new drivers: We have added Funding Capacity and Financial Markets as drivers of quality infrastructure in our updated InfraCompass framework, giving a more comprehensive picture of the infrastructure enabling environment.

Compare compare compare: InfraCompass 2020 allows you to compare countries, regions and income groups from a high-level overview of key economic and infrastructure data, to performance at a driver level, or right down to each of the individual metrics that comprise our analysis. This is also the first time you can compare a country’s progress over time, allowing you to identify where a country has improved since InfraCompass 2017.

Providing guidance for best practice: Based on the data, we identify areas for priority action for each country and provide links to specific, best practice materials to guide users on actionable next steps. Each metric identified for improvement links to guidance from leading international organisations (including some of our own GI Hub tools such as the Risk Allocation Tool and PPP Contract Management) or national bodies.

InfraCompass is needed now more than ever

The health and economic impacts of COVID-19 across the globe have demonstrated that there has never been a more important time for effective policymaking by government, and infrastructure is no exception. Combined with the leadership and political will to implement reforms, InfraCompass can assist in identifying the factors that attract more infrastructure investment. It can also identify reforms that deliver a greater service outcome for every dollar invested – an important metric for capital constrained governments and citizens in need of better services.