Case study: Measuring intangible benefits of infrastructure investment
19 December 2025
Investment in more disaster-resilient infrastructure provides a range of benefits, including creating stronger and more resilient communities and reducing future recovery cost. While cost-benefit analysis can ensure value for money, indirect and intangible benefits are often hard to measure and can be overlooked when considering the costs and benefits of an investment, particularly in ways that reflect the diverse needs of Queensland’s communities. Examples of indirect and intangible benefits of resilient infrastructure include continuity and connectedness of disaster affected communities, and other social, economic and environmental benefits.
The Queensland Betterment Fund has proven s upfront investment in stronger, more disaster resilient infrastructure creates stronger and more resilient communities. The ‘avoided reconstruction costs’ had been calculated for betterment projects re-impacted by disasters, to demonstrate that Betterment investment saves money for all levels of government in future disasters. However, the full cost to communities that we begin to consider through recognition of the intangible benefits for these betterment projects, had not yet been captured or valued, and there was no suitable tool available to complete this calculation.
Recognising this gap, QRA, as a member of the Resilient Futures Investment Roundtable, partnered with the International Institute for Sustainable Development to undertake a pilot project to customise their Sustainable Asset Valuation initiative (SAVi) Tool[1] and retrospectively test it against a range of infrastructure Betterment projects. The SAVi tool evaluates intangible benefits by using 15 indicators, such as road disruption, market access for crops, fruit and livestock, and mental health, to explore the full benefits of the investment (e.g. beyond avoided costs). This approach provides an evidence base to understand how infrastructure investments impact diverse communities, including those disproportionately affected by disasters.
QRA explored embedding SAVi within cost-benefit analyses for current betterment projects and conducted user testing with stakeholders to identify further applications and improvements. QRA found the tool has the potential to better quantify all benefits of investing in resilience to support decision-makers to prioritise future investments in road resilience projects. Measuring these benefits also supports diversity and inclusion by ensuring that infrastructure investments address the unique needs of communities to foster equitable recovery and resilience outcomes.
Noting the potential applications of the tool and acknowledging some of the tool’s limitations, QRA is collaborating with Partners for Infrastructure (P4I), an Australian Government initiative, to extend the functionality and applicability of the tool and make this more user-friendly.
The enhancement includes incorporating more data and information to quantify additional benefits, including:
- transport benefits – such as the cost of fuel and operation and maintenance cost of vehicles and roads
- environmental benefits - such as the pollution of air, water, noise, greenhouse gasses, and nature and landscape
- economic benefits - such as the cost of travel time and lots agricultural production.
- human and social benefits - such as first responder access, mental health, urgent food supply and everyday benefits.
In 2025, through P4I, QRA worked with Thailand’s Ministry of Transport and the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning to explore how to embed resilience into infrastructure decision-making as a measurable, fundable objective. As climate risks grow more severe, investing before disaster events occur will improve the resilience of Southeast Asia’s transport systems.
QRA is proud to be able to assist with this work. QRA continues to work with stakeholders to further test and refine the SAVi tool and explore further uses for this tool. This approach reinforces QRA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, ensuring that no community is left behind in recovery and resilience efforts.
Last updated: 19 December 2025
QRA Reference: QRATF/25/8716