Understanding the NIA Approach

In a world facing significant infrastructure gaps despite abundant global capital, the National Infrastructure Acceleration (NIA) approach offers a promising framework for enhancing collaboration between public and private sectors. Developed by the World Economic Forum in partnership with S&P Global, this innovative model creates structured dialogues that align government priorities with private sector capabilities to accelerate infrastructure development and financing.

The Global Infrastructure Challenge

Infrastructure development remains one of the most pressing economic challenges worldwide. According to the World Bank Group, approximately $94 trillion in infrastructure investment is needed globally by 2040 to close existing gaps. These shortfalls exist not only in developing economies but also in advanced ones – the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that without significant infrastructure investments, the United States could lose $7 trillion in business sales by 2020, with GDP declining by $3.9 trillion.

Despite these urgent needs, infrastructure development continues to lag behind demand due to several key impediments:

• Public sector budget constraints following the global financial crisis
• Private sector reluctance to commit capital to long-term, high-risk projects
• Inefficiencies in project origination and preparation phases
• Suboptimal project identification and prioritization processes
• Low-quality master planning
• Slow permitting and procurement processes
• Inadequate risk allocation models

The resulting financing gap affects economic growth, productivity, competitiveness, and quality of life across nations. Enhanced public-private collaboration emerges as a critical solution, especially as stretched government budgets face increasing infrastructure demands.

The NIA Approach: Origins and Framework

The NIA model originated from a World Economic Forum session in Jakarta in December 2015, where participants identified the lack of sustained public-private dialogue as a major obstacle to addressing Indonesia’s infrastructure gap. This led to the creation of the Business Working Group (BWG), which became the first implementation of what would evolve into the NIA approach.

At its core, NIA is a multistakeholder, country-focused approach that incorporates private sector input into concrete initiatives to accelerate infrastructure financing and development. The framework has since been tested and refined in diverse political and economic environments including Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Key Benefits of Public-Private Collaboration

The NIA model is built on the premise that enhanced cooperation between governments and the private sector yields specific advantages:

1. Optimized Public Spending: Through innovative financing models like Asset Recycling, governments can unlock capital from existing infrastructure by leasing assets to investors, then reinvesting proceeds into new infrastructure without raising taxes or increasing debt.
2. Enhanced Efficiency and Innovation: Public-private collaboration facilitates knowledge transfer, technology adoption, and improved operational efficiency in public services. Joint ventures with international firms can develop local capabilities and improve quality standards.
3. Improved Dialogue and Trust: The approach creates spaces for addressing policy questions, aligning social benefits with business opportunities, and overcoming persistent mistrust that often hampers infrastructure project delivery.

The NIA Implementation Roadmap: A Six-Step Process

The NIA approach follows a structured implementation roadmap consisting of six key steps:

Step 1: Assess Country Readiness

While the NIA approach is adaptable to various political environments, certain preconditions enhance success:

• Diversified Private Sector Base: The model relies on active participation from businesses spanning the infrastructure value chain. Countries with large, diversified, and freely-operating private sectors can better leverage NIA’s potential.
• Political Context and Appetite for Dialogue: Government officials must demonstrate genuine interest in building constructive dialogue beyond traditional speeches. The private sector must also acknowledge regulatory, bureaucratic and political constraints, focusing on areas where joint action can yield meaningful outcomes.

The Argentina case illustrates how even countries with mixed histories of public-private cooperation can successfully adopt the NIA approach when government officials demonstrate strong engagement and the private sector responds positively.

Step 2: Identify Key Stakeholders

Successful implementation requires participation from diverse stakeholders:

• Government Leadership: As ultimate owners of infrastructure planning and execution, policy-makers must guide, prioritize and implement outcomes from the working groups. The government acts as the leading partner, committed to delivering pre-agreed goals.
• Multistakeholder Representation: Working groups should include a diverse mix reflecting the infrastructure ecosystem:
  • Global companies applying international standards
  • National players with local business understanding
  • Multilateral development banks and international organizations as neutral facilitators
  • Academia, civil society and select experts

This balanced composition ensures the consideration of various perspectives, business interests, and social priorities.

Step 3: Understand the Needs

Before formalizing commitments, stakeholders must develop common understanding of infrastructure priorities:

• Benchmark the Infrastructure Landscape: An introductory workshop helps evaluate existing practices using frameworks like the 24 success factors employed in Vietnam, identifying areas needing improvement and acknowledging existing good practices.
• Prioritize Focus Areas: Parties should focus exclusively on issues requiring both public and private commitment. In Vietnam, following assessment of the local PPP landscape, members agreed on four main focus areas in cooperation with the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Step 4: Build the Structure

While informal in nature, the NIA operations benefit from structured organization:

• Create a Working Group: Forming a dedicated working group clarifies roles and supports execution of predefined objectives. Activities are typically designed for a one-year period, with possible extension.
• Assign Specific Roles: Clear allocation of responsibilities ensures effective execution and accountability. Key roles include:
  • Steering Committee chair (high-level public figure)
  • Co-leading public partner (working contact providing strategic direction)
  • Steering Committee members (business leaders co-designing objectives)
  • Subgroup co-leads (ensuring groups meet objectives)
  • Working Group Secretariat staff (handling operations and coordination)
• Set up a Local Secretariat: A locally-based project coordination office maintains relationships with participating organizations, ensures strategic alignment, handles logistics, and communicates project goals and successes.
• Draft Terms of Reference: Circulating terms of reference ensures shared understanding of structure, roles, procedures, governance, working plans, and upcoming activities.

Step 5: Define the Action Plan

This critical step translates focus areas into concrete action, moving from theory to implementation:

• The action plan should result from broad consensus among stakeholders
• It requires strong ownership from co-leading partners throughout design and execution
• The plan should specify clear objectives and deliverables

India’s High-Level Working Group provides a notable example, where members committed to establishing an Infrastructure Expert Council (IEC) tasked with overseeing all aspects of PPPs in the country. The proposal was presented directly to India’s Prime Minister, demonstrating high-level engagement.

Step 6: Track Progress and Measure Success

Maintaining momentum requires structured working rhythms and ongoing engagement:

• Define Working Rhythm: Activities typically include:
  • Steering Committee meetings (at least twice yearly)
  • Monthly working meetings for each subgroup
• Ensure Continuity and Engagement: As participation is voluntary, maintaining engagement requires understanding stakeholders’ motivations:
  • Direct access to policy-makers
  • Cross-sector networking
  • Peer-to-peer learning
  • Desire to advance infrastructure development
• Communicate: Strong visibility helps ensure continuity when members change roles. Working group members should act as ambassadors, and external communications strategies using media channels help increase awareness and acceptance.

Case Studies: NIA Implementation Across Countries

Indonesia Business Working Group (BWG)

From April 2016 to July 2017, the Forum’s BWG created a platform to enhance private sector participation in financing major infrastructure projects in Indonesia. The working group focused on identifying solutions rather than describing challenges, seeking to build consensus on priority issues requiring attention. After establishing understanding of Indonesia’s PPP landscape, the BWG focused on pilot projects for acceleration, which demonstrated specific issues slowing project delivery and validated the BWG’s recommendations.

According to Rainier Haryanto, Program Director at Indonesia’s Committee for Acceleration of Priority Infrastructure Delivery, “The BWG was a breakthrough opportunity to bring the private sector into the dialogue and overcome some of the negative perceptions, and also to align public and private expectations.”

Vietnam Infrastructure Working Group (IWG)

In Vietnam, policy-makers and business leaders used an evaluative framework based on 24 success factors to identify critical issues in Vietnamese PPPs. This assessment helped develop common understanding of areas requiring change and those where good practices already existed. The resulting focus areas included legal framework improvements, PPP implementation enhancements, asset recycling models, and project acceleration strategies.

Argentina Infrastructure Public-Private Working Group (IPPWG)

In Argentina, despite a mixed history of public-private cooperation, President Mauricio Macri’s government positioned infrastructure development as a key economic catalyst with private sector involvement. The IPPWG, chaired by the Secretary for Public Policy Coordination and supported by the PPP Unit at the Ministry of Treasury, brought together over 40 executives and decision-makers across four subgroups.

José Luis Morea, Secretary and Head of the PPP Unit, noted: “Today, Argentina wants to prioritize conversations with the private sector, and the platform provided by the World Economic Forum’s IPPWG gives us a safe and transparent space to do it, in combination with the external validation embedded in having the Forum on board.”

India High-Level Working Group (HLWG)

Facilitated by the World Economic Forum and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, India’s HLWG reviewed infrastructure needs and obstacles to investment. One of its key proposals was establishing an Infrastructure Expert Council as an independent entity to review long-term plans, provide expertise on PPP policies, guide project appraisals, and accelerate infrastructure investments. The IEC concept was presented directly to India’s Prime Minister, illustrating the high-level engagement that characterizes successful NIA implementation.

Critical Success Factors for NIA Implementation

Based on experiences across multiple countries, several factors emerge as crucial for successful NIA implementation:

1. Genuine Government Commitment: Public sector leaders must demonstrate more than symbolic support, actively engaging throughout the process and integrating working group recommendations into policy.
2. Balanced Stakeholder Representation: Diversity across the infrastructure ecosystem ensures multiple perspectives inform solutions.
3. Focus on Actionable Solutions: Working groups must concentrate on specific issues where public-private action can achieve concrete results, rather than general discussion.
4. Dedicated Local Secretariat: A coordination office maintains relationships, handles logistics, and ensures consistent progress between high-level meetings.
5. Clear Roles and Accountabilities: Explicitly defined responsibilities for chairs, co-leads, and members create structure and maintain momentum.
6. Realistic Timeframes: The approach typically plans for a 12-month cycle with defined deliverables, providing focus and urgency.
7. Effective Communication: Both internal coordination and external messaging help sustain engagement and build broader support.

The Way Forward

The NIA approach represents a promising model for enhancing public-private collaboration in infrastructure development worldwide. With minor variations to accommodate local contexts, it introduces new forms of engagement that can accelerate project delivery and unlock financing.

While the approach can be initiated by almost any organization active in the national infrastructure landscape, successful implementation requires sustained public sector engagement, significant private sector participation, and balanced input from impartial voices like international organizations or multilateral development banks.

By following the NIA implementation roadmap, stakeholders across countries and regions can establish results-oriented frameworks that address their specific infrastructure challenges. As Douglas L. Peterson, President and CEO of S&P Global notes: “The methodical approach developed through the National Infrastructure Acceleration initiative creates a platform where a proven yet tailored pathway to accelerate the development of a country’s infrastructure can be embraced and implemented.”

In a world where infrastructure needs continue to grow but traditional financing approaches prove insufficient, the NIA methodology offers a structured yet flexible framework for bringing together the resources, expertise, and commitment needed to close persistent infrastructure gaps.

References

1. World Economic Forum. (2018). “Empowering Public-Private Collaboration in Infrastructure: National Infrastructure Acceleration (NIA) approach.” Geneva: World Economic Forum.
2. World Economic Forum. (2013). “The Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014.” Geneva: World Economic Forum.
3. World Economic Forum. (2017). “The Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018.” Geneva: World Economic Forum.
4. The World Bank Group. (2017). “Forecasting infrastructure investment needs for 50 countries, 7 sectors through 2040.”
5. World Economic Forum. (2017). “Recycling our Infrastructure for Future Generations.” White Paper. Geneva: World Economic Forum.
6. World Economic Forum. (2016). “Accelerating Capital Markets Development in Emerging Economies: Country Case Studies.” White Paper. Geneva: World Economic Forum.
7. World Economic Forum. (2013). “Strategic Infrastructure: Steps to Prepare and Accelerate Public-Private Partnerships.” Geneva: World Economic Forum.
8. S&P Global Ratings. (2017). “Developing U.S. Infrastructure In An Era Of Emerging Challenges: Observations From Key Sectors.”