P36 Public Management and Policy: Towards Critical Infrastructure Assets

Panel Members & Contact Details

Kerry Brown, Edith Cowan University, Australia. Email: k.brown@ecu.edu.au

Tiffany Batac, ISO Technical Committee 251 Asset Management. Email: tbatac@KPMG.com

David Mills, QUT, Australia. Email: d5.mills@qut.edu.au

Robyn Keast, Expert Advice, Australia. Email: robyn.keast@scu.edu.au

Summary

Infrastructure assets are vital for delivering essential services, and governments are increasingly challenged to maintain aging systems, prompting a shift in public management approaches and policy instruments. This panel explores the role of governance, international standards, and third-sector advocacy in shaping effective infrastructure asset management, with attention to how these efforts align with global goals like the UN SDGs. Scholars are invited to contribute research using diverse methodologies and theoretical frameworks to examine how governments can create enabling environments for sustainable infrastructure policy and practice.

Description

Introduction to the topic: Infrastructure assets are critical to supporting communities to access essential services such as health, education, water, transport and energy.  The role of public management in supporting the procurement, provision, and ongoing operation of critical physical infrastructure assets is undergoing transition. Governments are no longer able to afford expensive maintenance of now-aging infrastructure and new ways of managing infrastructure assets need to be sought.  The enabling environment may feature the suite of rules and the presence of particular conditions that may affect the achievement of objectives, along with the set of policy instruments that support achieving those goals (Batac et al., 2021, Algere et al., 2020). At issue is the role and effectiveness (or otherwise) of policy and programmatic supports for delivering and managing infrastructure including international standards, best practice policy and programs, guidance frameworks and models in leading public management and supporting good/best practice.  The selection, deployment and implementation implications of policy instruments for managing infrastructure assets by government is under consideration here. The role of third sector organisations including professional associations in advocating for appropriate or best practice frameworks and practices is of significant concern as well.

Supranational organisations such as the European Union (EU) Directives and United Nations (UN) particularly in its Security Council resolutions which can be binding on member states are an important consideration to understand the contextual aspects of policy, management and practice for infrastructure assets particularly how policy and management issue resolution may offer concomitantly, solutions to achieving the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).

Theoretical Frameworks: The panel invites scholars and practitioners to explore relevant topical areas of public management of critical infrastructure assets and asset management including transition management, systems theory, socio-technical systems theory, public management-embedded theories and frameworks, and theories of public/private splits and interfaces are major contributors to advancing knowledge in this context.

Methods: Scholars and other interested parties are invited to provide research findings from qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods including case studies and systematic reviews, conceptual frameworks and surveys on aspects of how government may contribute to shaping and supporting the contextual elements and the enabling environment for infrastructure asset management and the decisions and actions to formulate and deploy appropriate policy instruments for managing these infrastructure assets. 

Relevance

Public management of infrastructure assets contributes at its core, to the well-being, health and safety of the communities served by government and its agencies. Understanding and developing new knowledge about the activities and considerations of government actors enacting good practice through policy and systematic or programmatic management of infrastructure assets may be critical in this context along with examining and debating how those organisations and associations that seek to influence public management in these areas give effect to this influence and develop pathways to offer their expertise and advice. The relevance of the theme is demonstrated in the risk to the public if infrastructure is not managed well and ultimately, for the public good.

For public management scholars and practitioners, the context in which infrastructure is designed, procured and managed over its lifecycle is a major consideration in the prosperity and resilience of communities and ultimately the health and well-being of its citizens.