Effectiveness, transparency and predictability are more and more imperative words in infrastructure planning and realization. In the last few years, a rising number of Independent Infrastructure Advisory Bodies have been established to ensure a support to national and local governments in planning and realizing a long-term infrastructural strategy. These institutions may represent a very important tool to evaluate on an objective basis the entire life cycle of an infrastructure, from the design to the post-mortem assessment, eventually reducing realization and maintenance costs. The spreading of such institutions on a global scale would help to reduce the political discretion in decisions concerning infrastructure, potentially reducing the risks of wasting public money, and increasing the share of private financing in infrastructure investments.

How are these institutions designed to ensure independence and strengthen the credibility of infrastructural projects? What are the main best practices established in the EU, Canada, Singapore, Australia and UK? How can these practices smoothen each phase of the process?