Matthew GriffinFounder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
G7 · G20governments advised
850+keynotes
102countries
17codexes
Future of society sessions forSlovakiaTechSamsungCalifornia Governor's OfficeThe Mentor ProjectBritish Property FederationRWE
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About this fireside chat
Firstly, thank you to Kirsty at P3 for inviting me to take part in their annual event where James Stewart, Vice Chair of KPMG, and I participated in a fireside chat to discuss the Future of Infrastructure, which included everything from educational and healthcare to energy and transportation infrastructure, and the impact that new emerging and disruptive trends across all these various sectors will have on the future of infrastructure projects and investments.
During the fireside chat, which was then followed up by a private panel session made up of various luminaries from the UK Government and UK Infrastructure Bank, James and I discussed the impact that new technologies will have on government planning and policy, and discussed governments risk appetites for building for the future while trying to manage the bureaucratic and political realities of today.
It’s no stretch to say that we live in disruptive times, a time where hydrogen and renewables are becoming the main fuel source, where education and healthcare is available on demand at the touch of a digital button on a smart device, and where flying taxis, hypersonic trains, and autonomous vehicles, which are as small as bikes and as large as commercial airliners and 250,000 tonne cargo ships, are all emerging.
All of which is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and as every sector starts to experience disruption, at a scale and speed unlike anything they’re ever witnessed before, the impact of all these new trends and technologies on the infrastructure sector is nothing short of monumental, and that’s what James and I, as well as the panel afterwards, dove into with vigour.
311 Intelligence
What this means for your leadership team
Every sector is being disrupted.
The session described hydrogen and renewables becoming main fuel sources, and education and healthcare arriving on demand through a smart device. It also pointed to flying taxis, hypersonic trains and autonomous vehicles, from bike-sized to 250,000 tonne cargo ships. Infrastructure plans built on one sector's assumptions will miss how fast the others are moving.
Policy risk appetite sets the pace.
Governments want to build for the future while handling today's bureaucratic and political limits. Where governments are fragile or deadlocked, long projects stall. Leaders should treat policy stability as a planning input, not a background condition.
Old assets and new demand collide.
Ageing roads, bridges and sewers are wearing out faster than budgets can repair them. At the same time, new energy and transport systems need new networks. Private capital is likely to fill part of the gap, so leaders should decide early how they want to work with it.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
Which of our infrastructure assumptions depend on a single energy or transport future?
How would a stalled government decision change our project timelines?
Are we ready to partner with private capital on long-life assets?
The trends and technologies behind this session
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
What does the KPMG infrastructure session mean for organisations?
It means infrastructure can no longer be planned sector by sector. Energy, transport, education and healthcare are all changing at once, and policy and risk appetite will decide how fast new projects move. Organisations should test their plans against several futures.
How does crumbling infrastructure relate to this session?
Post-war roads, bridges and sewers are wearing out faster than budgets and workforces can repair them. That raises the pressure on governments just as new technologies demand new networks. Leaders should plan for both repair and renewal.
How does private capital relate to the future of infrastructure?
Private funds are becoming major owners of assets such as data centres, grids, ports and fibre as public money runs short. This links directly to the session's focus on investment and government risk appetite. Organisations should prepare for private owners and new partnership terms.
How can 311 brief our leadership team on this?
311 offers a private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. Sessions are held in person first.
Bring this to your leadership teamA private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. In person first, anywhere in the world.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s session and 311 data.
If Matthew gave this session today
Hundreds of emerging technologies, mapped for industry.
The codex explores hundreds of emerging technologies and their implications for global culture, industry and society, the long-range view that any 2080 infrastructure strategy depends on.
