Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)
The City Innovation Platform: A guide to multi-sector collaboration on resilience
May 2017 – This guide looks at the City Innovation Platform (CIP), a two-day workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2016. The CIP explored how the public and private sectors can collaborate more effectively to deliver sustainable, financeable and insurable infrastructure projects. The workshop involved the active participation from a city network of senior Dar city officials, the insurance industry, asset managers and the private sector.
This guide captures a partnership between insurance industry organisations and city officials, united by the need to deliver more sustainable, financeable and insurable public infrastructure projects across emerging economy cities.
There is mounting concern on the impact of the climate-risk protection gap; the widening divide between total economic and insured losses. The protection gap represents a significant challenge for society, which faces increased exposure to the physical and economic costs of climate risks.
This is a particular problem for emerging economies, due to low pre-existing levels of insurance penetration and a challenging governance environment. Developing economies currently have low levels of understanding about insurance, and often struggling to make full use of the industry’s risk transfer and risk management capabilities.
Public infrastructure projects play a vital role in enhancing resilience and managing the protection gap. Given the significant infrastructure investment needs across emerging economies, decisions today will have long and lasting impacts on the communities they serve. Yet Investors and insurers are often only included in the development process once most of the major decisions have already been made, limiting their potential contribution.
Harnessing the existing expertise of the insurance industry could promote improved delivery and support of public infrastructure projects. For insurers, more stable local communities would translate into potential growth in demand for insurance and other risk management products and deliver better quality, long-term investment opportunities.
This guide looks at the City Innovation Platform (CIP), a two-day workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2016. The CIP explored how the public and private sectors can collaborate more effectively to deliver sustainable, financeable and insurable infrastructure projects. The workshop involved the active participation from a city network of senior Dar city officials, the insurance industry, asset managers and the private sector.
Together, they explored how insurance industry risk transfer, risk management and consultancy expertise could support the Dar es Salaam city management make more informed decisions about managing risk and reducing the cost of risk transfer. It highlights the many opportunities for insurers to leverage their specific skills and expertise. The guide is designed to be accessible both to the insurance sector and city leadership who aspire to leverage the full potential of the insurance industry.
"The infrastructure challenges city leaders face are unprecedented and at a scale hard to comprehend. Africa urgently needs new urban solutions developed and embraced by all to shape and build vibrant, safe, resilient and liveable cities."
Kobie Brand, Regional Director, ICLEI Africa
"The insurance sector’s expertise in risk management can play a positive role in building community resilience by supporting infrastructure funders and developers with risk management and risk transfer expertise and solutions."
"The CIP addresses the very issues that not only make city living more sustainable, but also conducive to the provision of insurance."
Julius Magabe, Regional Executive: East Africa, Sanlam Emerging Markets
"Bringing the insurance industry and city officials together is key to get ready for the reality of climate change."
Hans-Peter Egler, CEO, Global Infrastructure Basel (GIB) Foundation
Citing this report
University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). (2017, May) City Innovation Platform: A guide to multi-sector collaboration on resilience. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
