The Global Infrastructure Resilience Report

The First Global Infrastructure Resilience (GIR) Report, published by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) in October 2023, marked a significant milestone in the global efforts to advance disaster and climate-resilient infrastructure. Addressing the unique challenges faced by Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), it outlined pathways for strengthening resilience by leveraging data from the first-ever fully probabilistic global risk assessment of infrastructure assets – the Global Infrastructure Risk Model & Resilience Index (GIRI). GIRI provided data-driven, country-specific risk metrics to support investments in infrastructure resilience, with pathways for scaling up finance, applying Nature-based Infrastructure Solutions (the thematic focus of the first edition), and strengthening infrastructure governance. Most importantly, by reframing resilience from a cost to an opportunity, the Report emphasized the idea of a “resilience dividend” that can generate long-term benefits for all stakeholders alike.

Following its success, the upcoming Second Global Infrastructure Resilience Report (GIR 2025), to be released at COP30 in November 2025, builds directly on this foundation while broadening both its scope and depth. It seeks to address some of the questions raised during the preparation and dissemination of the First Report, expanding its remit and strengthening the connections between risk analysis and the financial, institutional, ecological, and technological dimensions of resilient infrastructure. GIR 2025 further aims to reinforce the evidence base and advocate for upscaling resilient infrastructure by shifting the conversation from defining what the resilience dividend is to exploring how it can be effectively realized.

DRI Dialogue on Governance and Institutions for Resilient Infrastructure

In the lead-up to the launch of GIR 2025, CDRI is hosting a curated series of thematic dialogues on governance, finance, nature-based solutions, technology, and risk assessment. Intended to foster reflection and exchange of ideas, the series brings together global experts and practitioners, including contributors to GIR 2025 as authors and advisors, alongside other notable voices with deep expertise in these areas.

The governance stream of GIR 2025 examines how institutions, policies, and organizational frameworks can be strengthened to embed resilience across infrastructure systems. Considering both national and sectoral perspectives, it highlights that resilient infrastructure depends not only on effective service delivery but also on institutions’ capacity to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to risks.

This DRI Dialogue on Governance and Institutions for Resilient Infrastructure will explore how governance frameworks and institutional arrangements shape resilience outcomes. Governance shapes resilience through legislation, regulation, finance, sector planning, service delivery, and engagement with disaster agencies, finance ministries, planning bodies, communities, and private actors. Complementary tools such as risk data systems, codes and standards, contracts, monitoring, and preparedness planning further strengthen institutional capacity. Drawing on insights from global experts, the dialogue will examine the key challenges that hinder resilience, the factors that enable it, and how targeted reforms, institutional capacity building, and coordinated approaches can empower infrastructure systems to withstand and adapt to risks, even in fragile or resource-constrained contexts.

Building on this rationale, the Second Dialogue will feature a fireside chat addressing the following questions:

1. How can governance frameworks be strengthened to enhance resilience across different types of infrastructure systems?

2. What institutional capacities are most critical for anticipating, preparing for, and responding to infrastructure-related risks?

3. How can coordination between government agencies, the private sector, and communities be improved to strengthen resilience outcomes?

4. Which tools, standards, and processes have proven effective in embedding resilience in infrastructure planning and operations?

5. What lessons can fragile or resource-constrained environments offer for designing governance systems that are adaptable, inclusive, and sustainable?