The rate of investment, demand management policies or environmental issues can
be tackled rapidly, if resources are available, or more slowly. Surely, this rate will be
part of the strategies considered.
From a bottom-up perspective, there are different strategic options that are
available for every infrastructure sector: energy, transport, water, waste and ICT
(Hickford et al. 2015). The following sub-strategy elements are often proposed when
advocating strategies for specific sectors:
(i) Instruments, for managing demand, which try to modify the scale and timing of
demand for infrastructure services, for example via prices and regulation;
(ii) System efficiency measures which change the technology, the operation and
management (O&M) modes and practices of infrastructure systems. This may
be achieved by using more efficient plant or utilising infrastructure capacity
(e.g. road-space) more efficiently; and
(iii) Capacity expansion changes, which modify the number, capacity and connectivity of physical infrastructure assets.
Strategies for demand management: Education, new consumer technologies or
tariff structures and price incentives will influence or modify user behaviour and
hence the demand for the service provided by the infrastructure.
Strategies enabling change in capacity utilisation and provision: The same
infrastructure system may be used differently (different approaches – flexitime
or not for roads), or through different technologies. These affect the capacity of
use and, thus, the efficiency of the infrastructure system.
Developing strategies for the long-term: There are four contrasting cross-sectoral
infrastructure strategies, as follows:
Minimum intervention (MI) – business as usual. There is no willingness to
reduce future demand or address important environmental issues.
Capacity expansion (CE) – increase infrastructure capacity through further
investment, without, necessarily, a proper long term planning to reduce future
demand.
System efficiency (SE) – technological and policy interventions are used to
address both supply and demand so as to optimise the performance and
improve the efficiency of the existing system,
System restructuring (SR) – the existing mode of providing infrastructure
service is fundamentally restructured and redesigned, using a mix of targeted
centralisation and decentralisation methods.
6.4.5 Step 3: Infrastructure System-of-Systems Models
This arrangement addresses questions related to the performance of different infrastructure strategies under different scenarios, including:
6.4 Applying Systems Analysis to Infrastructure
171
be tackled rapidly, if resources are available, or more slowly. Surely, this rate will be
part of the strategies considered.
From a bottom-up perspective, there are different strategic options that are
available for every infrastructure sector: energy, transport, water, waste and ICT
(Hickford et al. 2015). The following sub-strategy elements are often proposed when
advocating strategies for specific sectors:
(i) Instruments, for managing demand, which try to modify the scale and timing of
demand for infrastructure services, for example via prices and regulation;
(ii) System efficiency measures which change the technology, the operation and
management (O&M) modes and practices of infrastructure systems. This may
be achieved by using more efficient plant or utilising infrastructure capacity
(e.g. road-space) more efficiently; and
(iii) Capacity expansion changes, which modify the number, capacity and connectivity of physical infrastructure assets.
Strategies for demand management: Education, new consumer technologies or
tariff structures and price incentives will influence or modify user behaviour and
hence the demand for the service provided by the infrastructure.
Strategies enabling change in capacity utilisation and provision: The same
infrastructure system may be used differently (different approaches – flexitime
or not for roads), or through different technologies. These affect the capacity of
use and, thus, the efficiency of the infrastructure system.
Developing strategies for the long-term: There are four contrasting cross-sectoral
infrastructure strategies, as follows:
Minimum intervention (MI) – business as usual. There is no willingness to
reduce future demand or address important environmental issues.
Capacity expansion (CE) – increase infrastructure capacity through further
investment, without, necessarily, a proper long term planning to reduce future
demand.
System efficiency (SE) – technological and policy interventions are used to
address both supply and demand so as to optimise the performance and
improve the efficiency of the existing system,
System restructuring (SR) – the existing mode of providing infrastructure
service is fundamentally restructured and redesigned, using a mix of targeted
centralisation and decentralisation methods.
6.4.5 Step 3: Infrastructure System-of-Systems Models
This arrangement addresses questions related to the performance of different infrastructure strategies under different scenarios, including:
6.4 Applying Systems Analysis to Infrastructure
171