On the occasion of the publication of the ISPI-McKinsey & Company annual report on “Digitalization for Sustainable Infrastructure: the Race Ahead”
Digitalization is at the core of the social and economic investments aimed to recover the European economy in the aftermath of the pandemic. Alongside sustainability, digitalization is considered one of the two main pillars to ensure Europe a smooth and successful transition into new forms of production, consumption and mobility. But Europe is not alone: the major countries in the world are heavily investing in digital infrastructure and elaborating national strategies to include digital investments in every domain of society and economy. Digital and technology are more and more becoming protagonists of a global race, where competition among the main countries is rising constantly. Digitalization is key to improving the overall competitiveness of our economies and has a great impact on other types of infrastructure such as roads, railways, air and maritime transport. Moreover, digitalization is crucial to reducing the carbon footprint of our economy and increasing the environmental performance of physical infrastructure. However, a great amount of investment is required to ensure a rapid digitalization of the economy and a digital infrastructure gap still persists in developing countries but also in some parts of Southern and Eastern Europe. Public finances cannot cope alone with this challenge, especially at a time when a lot of public financial resources are allocated to address the energy crisis and the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine. The private sector is hence called to share the burden and invest in digitalization and digital infrastructure, with the crucial support of the International Financial Institutions (IFIs).
ISPI has always been careful to ensure an inclusive working environment and to be attentive to gender diversity and to the plurality of voices represented in its initiatives. When this is not reflected in one of our publications or events, it is due to the unavailability of the consulted experts to participate or to challenges in identifying specific profiles in our network.
