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Infrastructure Data Integration for Resilience Planning

Solution Overview

This initiative builds on existing cross-sectoral work on data innovation, including the London Resilience Partnership Anytown project mapping cascading failures and infrastructure interdependencies, to improve the ability to monitor the health of infrastructure assets, assess interdependencies and identify priority investment areas for building resilience.[1] The approach aims to use data innovation to facilitate more effective action by identifying and compiling the data that already exists to generate previously out of reach insights to inform decision-making on infrastructure in London.[1] Infrastructure partners and experts have explicitly stated that this kind of support is required to deliver resilience.[1]

Technical Components

The Anytown project, led by London Resilience, brought together sector experts and practitioners from London and beyond to discuss the potential implications of disruption to infrastructure.[2] London Resilience created a model to help facilitate and map discussions about infrastructure disruption implications.[2] Phase 1 of the Anytown project looked at the potential implications of disruption to electricity and water supply and mapped out the knock-on effects.[2] The London Infrastructure Mapping Application, first created by the GLA in 2015, is an online and interactive GIS-based tool that integrates infrastructure and development data, along with contextual information, to facilitate coordination and strategic planning across Greater London.[5] Since 2019, the Greater London Authority Infrastructure Team has received funding from the Geospatial Commission, part of the Cabinet Office, to deliver the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) in London.[3] The GLA Infrastructure Team worked with the Government's Geospatial Commission since May 2019 to deliver the London pilot of NUAR.[3]

Implementation Details

The LUAR pilot was managed by the GLA's Infrastructure Team since its launch in May 2019, bringing together data from all asset owners operating in the areas into a digital tool, with the pilot ending in March 2020.[5] The Greater London Authority received £2.43 million from the Geospatial Commission to digitally map underground assets across six London boroughs through the London's Underground Asset Register pilot.[5] The GLA created buy-in among over 20 utilities, transport providers, local authorities and telecommunications companies during the LUAR pilot phase.[5] The next phase of LUAR work resulted in an up-to-date digital map of underground assets covering the area of at least 16 London boroughs by March 2022, including the six delivered during the LUAR pilot.[5] The GLA expected to receive £3.33 million over two years from the Geospatial Commission to maintain the existing system, continue testing, expand participation to additional boroughs and infrastructure providers, and contribute strategically to the launch of a national system.[5] The London Infrastructure Mapping Application accessed an additional £290,500 in grant funding from the London Lane Rental Surplus Revenue, beyond the original amount approved by MD2162 of £500,000.[5]

The NUAR build phase lasted three years and was split into two sections, with the first 18 months from September 2021 to March 2023 focused on establishing an MVP in three regions: London, the North East of England and Wales.[3] The NUAR Build Phase Minimum Viable Product was a £340k project approved by MD2876 from October 2021 to March 2023 to prepare all asset owners in London to launch a MVP platform, delivered across all 33 London local authorities.[3] The GLA's Infrastructure Team was close to finalising the successful delivery of the NUAR Minimum Viable Product Phase, using £340,000 of funding approved through MD2876 from the Geospatial Commission.[3] The Geospatial Commission, in partnership with the GLA, was on track to launch a MVP NUAR in March 2023, for which the GLA planned a launch event in London.[3] The GLA leads engagement with 60 asset owners, including all 33 of London's local authorities, and all major utilities and transport providers such as TfL and HS2 in London.[3] Immediate work for the project is funded through existing GLA budgets with opportunities for additional financial support to be explored.[1]

Benefits and Impacts

Integrated data on infrastructure interdependencies and asset health allows GLA to work with infrastructure providers to identify where investment should be prioritised to reduce London's vulnerability.[1] The Anytown model continues to be used to improve awareness of the wide-ranging consequences of infrastructure disruption.[2] The aim of the Anytown project is to raise awareness of the consequences of infrastructure disruption with all emergency response organisations in London, serving as a way of talking about disruption to London's infrastructure, which has developed over hundreds of years, into a simple model which could be applicable anywhere in the UK.[4] By engaging infrastructure providers to support a focus on prioritising relevant investment areas, this project also reviews opportunities to monitor the condition of high priority utility assets and explores applications of modelling tools and technology to process data and provide decision support.[1]

Climate Adaptation Relevance

This approach addresses climate adaptation by improving the ability to monitor the health of infrastructure assets, assess interdependencies and identify priority investment areas for building resilience against cascading failures.[1] The mapping of infrastructure interdependencies and cascading failures enables emergency response organisations to understand the wide-ranging consequences of infrastructure disruption that could result from climate-related events.[2]

Business Analysis

The funding structure demonstrates a multi-phase approach with initial pilot investment of £2.43 million from the Geospatial Commission for the LUAR pilot across six London boroughs.[5] This was followed by an expected £3.33 million over two years to maintain the existing system, continue testing, expand participation to additional boroughs and infrastructure providers, and contribute strategically to the launch of a national system.[5] The NUAR Build Phase MVP received £340,000 in funding approved through MD2876 from the Geospatial Commission from October 2021 to March 2023.[3] The London Infrastructure Mapping Application accessed supplementary funding of £290,500 from the London Lane Rental Surplus Revenue beyond the original £500,000 approved by MD2162.[5] Immediate work for the broader infrastructure resilience project is funded through existing GLA budgets with opportunities for additional financial support to be explored.[1] The partnership model involves the GLA leading engagement with 60 asset owners, including all 33 of London's local authorities and all major utilities and transport providers such as TfL and HS2.[3]

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