Oxford Programme for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (OPSIS), part of University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute, conducts research and provides education to enable sustainable, resilient infrastructure. It applies systems-of-systems methodologies to key sectors—including energy, transport, water, and digital communications—and explores their interdependence with people, the economy and the natural environment.
OPSIS seeks to improve decision-making under uncertainty by integrating advanced analytics with open data and open-source models. Its approach includes quantifying risks from climate extremes, such as droughts and floods, to infrastructure, then using that insight to inform adaptation, financing, and disaster-risk management strategies.
The programme underpins its work through a range of UK-based and international projects. In the UK, OPSIS contributes to the Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium and leads tools such as the National Infrastructure Systems Model (NISMOD), the Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI), and simulation work on water systems and spatial modelling for the Oxford–Cambridge Arc. Internationally, OPSIS offers global risk analytics, including a Global Resilience Index, and partners with the Global Centre on Adaptation on nature-based solutions, the Oxford Martin Programme on Systemic Resilience, and UN-linked assessments in Bangladesh and other countries.
OPSIS also develops practical research tools: It maintains a suite of open-source software—such as InfraSim (multi-infrastructure simulation), smif (modelling integration), NexTra, GMTRA and others—to support reproducible infrastructure modelling. Additionally, OPSIS offers educational courses—such as “Infrastructure for Sustainable Development”, “Infrastructure for Climate Resilience” and “Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable, Climate-compatible Development”—to help learners apply tools, datasets, and planning frameworks aligned with global agendas like the SDGs and Paris Agreement.
Through this combination of modelling innovation, data tools, international projects and teaching, OPSIS advances sustainable infrastructure planning. Its work supports sustainable finance by supplying evidence, analytics and decision frameworks that help governments, development banks and investors assess and prioritise climate-resilient infrastructure pathways.
