IDS is a specialist, not for profit, organisation focused on improving infrastructure asset management and decision-making. It provides expert guidance, tools and support to help local authorities and asset managers make informed, evidence-based decisions for long-lived infrastructure. IDS emphasises the integration of data-driven analysis, financial strategy, risk management and community outcomes to optimise investment, maintenance and renewal planning.

IDS contracted Auxilium to conduct research into how the NZ transport sector could improve investment decision making. The work included a research review of existing frameworks, practice, resources/tools and stakeholder engagement with the transport sector to understand the issues and the desired benefits from governors to asset engineers. The outcomes of this work following a series of workshops and research was to develop a holistic investment framework and provide recommendations to address identified gaps indecision making.

Transportation assets are long-lived, often lasting up to 60 years, making today’s decisions impactful for decades. Rapid societal changes and evolving human and vehicle factors create challenges in planning for long-life infrastructure. Transport systems significantly influence society economically, socially and environmentally, with local decisions affecting national and global outcomes. While traditional decision-making models focus on engineering and economic assessments, public priorities often emphasise sustainability, social equity, safety and environmental considerations. The NZ Office of the Auditor-General highlights the need for integrated strategies that combine asset condition data, financial planning and service delivery. Local authorities must optimise spending on maintenance and renewal by linking these elements to ensure well-informed, community-focused decisions that support societal wellbeing.

‍