The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs released “Managing Infrastructure Assets for Sustainable Development: A Handbook for Local and National Governments” for public sector organizations.
This handbook aims to increase the accessibility of resilient and sustainable infrastructure planning information. The publication provides a comprehensive guide for public sector organizations’ asset management including basic definitions, effective industry strategies, case examples, and templates for data collection and other practices.
Under section 5.4.2 Information Technology Tools for Asset Management, the handbook explains that “by properly integrating new tools and practices into existing modes of operation, you ensure that asset management activities […] are cost-effective and serve the true needs of your government.” This statement is followed by a quote from PSD Citywides’s Leveraging Asset Management Data for Improved Water Infrastructure Planning – A National Report.
“We are at a state now where we are looking for software, as we want to start making higher-level analytical decisions, using software that will look at the inventory and condition data and make more comprehensive assessments of long-term capital priorities.”
The United Nations handbooks will likely act as a key resource for public sector organizations across the world looking to advance their asset management programs or simply seeking to learn more about global practices.
