An estimated $97.5 trillion in infrastructure investments are needed to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2040.

Roads, railways, airports, water distribution, schools, and hospitals: infrastructure is the foundation for how we live our lives. Trillions are invested in breathing life into infrastructure plans but there is also a huge efficiency gap (approximately 30%, according to the IMF) between the money that is spent and the coverage and quality of the resulting infrastructure. This means that vital, life-changing infrastructure is not being delivered to citizens.

Although a data-driven approach is beginning to transform business environments and governance, the world of public procurement – picture long corridors of dusty paper files and slow, secretive processes – remains stuck in the past.

To unlock this potential and drive greater infrastructure investment, we must strengthen the enabling investment environment as well as enhance due process and transparency. Our approach to opening up contracting in infrastructure focuses on improving data, supporting implementation, generating impact, collaborating with the private sector, and building a new norm.

Our new standard connects previously siloed information to better disclose and track infrastructure development. It provides guidance to governments on what information to disclose at each stage of an infrastructure project so that public money is spent well from planning to completion.

The Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard #OC4IDS is a joint effort by CoST – the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative and the Open Contracting Partnership that builds on best practice in open data and disclosure of public procurement and infrastructure information globally.

Find out how to implement the OC4IDS at standard.open-contracting.org/infrastructure