Greater Manchester Strategic Infrastructure Board (GMSIB) Terms of Reference

Background

The Strategic Infrastructure Board was established in 2019 to take ownership of the Greater Manchester Infrastructure Framework Challenges, consider and respond to the issues and challenges that it raises and to advise the GMCA and Local Enterprise Partnership on how best to move the challenges forward from the Framework into a 2040 Strategy and then drive forward its implementation.

The Infrastructure Framework (2019) identified 11 challenges that cover the following physical infrastructure elements, these are:

Zero carbon heat
Reduction in heat demand
Accommodate changing electricity demand
Improve transport capacity and connectivity
Support low emission vehicles
Managing flood risk
Maximise the value of green and blue infrastructure
Implementation of the GM Digital Strategy
Collaborative and coordinated approach
Funding models
Resilient to shocks and stresses

Purpose

The purpose of the Greater Manchester Strategic Infrastructure Board (SIB) is to:

convene at a strategic level the main organisations responsible for managing and/or delivering Greater Manchester’s critical physical infrastructure and
take overall ownership of the 11 Infrastructure Challenges
Provide strategic oversight, co-ordination and identification of interdependencies between the challenges
Influencing how the key issues and priorities from these Boards/groups are communicated within the GMCA system, with partners and externally with government

Membership

Members of the Board should provide expert, impartial advice to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). The Board should also: 

Take ownership of the 11 Infrastructure Challenges
Work with relevant GMCA advisory groups and officers to shape and help deliver an appropriate and resilient Infrastructure Strategy for Greater Manchester  
Engage, as appropriate, with government departments, the National Infrastructure Commission, industry, interest groups and other stakeholders in relation to Greater Manchester’s strategic priorities1 and gather views on future infrastructure needs and solutions. 
Advise on relevant Regulatory Bodies emerging polices.  
Identify and progress opportunities for collaboration, engagement and communication and where appropriate the secondment of staff with relevant expertise to the GMCA. 
Strive to seek the resolution of issues that prevent the successful implementation of Greater Manchester’s strategic priorities. 
Continue to work together collectively to enable key stakeholders to better co-ordinate and collaborate.

Priorities

 The Board agreed the priority areas (to October 2023) at its November 2022 meeting these are:

Resilience – The definition we are working to, the standards we want to achieve and the actions and projects that contribute to the achievement of this goal.
Low Carbon – Infrastructure related actions and projects to help achieve carbon neutrality by 2038, particularly associated with decarbonizing heat and transport.
Infrastructure Investment Plans – Delivering existing investment plans, providing more timely input within the different cycles of business plans and the identification of projects for investment & delivery.
Spatial – Providing a geographical focus to projects/delivery priorities and ensuring this integrates with supporting programmes and stakeholder engagement e.g. GM Growth Areas.
Planning and collaboration – strengthen links to the Infrastructure Providers investment cycles, for:
- Future Demand
- Climate Change and Low Carbon
- Biodiversity
- Resilience
- Innovation – (further work required to agree what the GMSIB should include in innovation).
Digital as a cross cutting theme - and the role of data, digital systems and digital twins to help improve the productivity and underpinning role of infrastructure and support the thematic areas listed 1-5 above.
Influencing – support Infrastructure Providers in influencing and coordinating government bodies to better align with regional priorities.

Annex A details how the agreed priorities will be taken forward. For the Boards terms of reference the focus areas for 2023 are:

Investment Plans 
Influencing
Low carbon
Digital transformation of infrastructure
Resilience* (role and relationship to the GM LRF to be confirmed)

The Board will periodically call upon GMCA officers and request briefings, the commissioning of reports and progression of actions from the following groups that are accountable to the GMCA: 

Natural Capital Group 
Transport for Greater Manchester 
Green City Region Partnership and associated groups.
Greater Manchester Digital Infrastructure Advisory Group 
Greater Manchester Resilience Forum (Infrastructure) 
The Greater Manchester Integrated Water Management Plan partnership

 Board members will be expected to: 

Draw upon the embedded thinking and capacity within their own organisations. 
Actively seek opportunities for collaboration and partnership working and  
Support the GMCA in promoting the work of the GMCA and the Board in relation to its physical infrastructure.

Membership and advice

Membership of the Board is limited to strategic director level or similar with: 

Ability to direct and influence their organisations strategies 
Capacity to direct resources within the organisation  
Have direct access and reporting arrangements to the organisations chief executive.

Members can identify a deputy, but this should be at a similar level of seniority.

Board Members

The following Infrastructure organisations are invited as permanent members of the Board:

United Utilities 
Electricity North West 
Cadent 
Environment Agency

Other Board members:

The Greater Manchester Resilience forum will be represented by the Chief Resilience Officer. 
The GMCA will be represented by the Directors of Place and Environment 
The Digital Infrastructure Advisory Group will be represented by the Chair of that group.

The following organisations will be invited to attend depending on the Boards focus/requirements:

National Infrastructure Commission 
Homes England 
Natural England 
Highways England 
Network Rail 
Transport for Greater Manchester
National Grid

The Board can recommend the appointment of a chair either from within its own membership or from another body where an individual with significant experience and capability in this field has been identified. Recommendations will be considered by the GMCA portfolio holder and Chief Executive responsible for infrastructure.

The Board will meet quarterly over a 12-month period.

The Boards membership and terms of reference and appointed chair will be reviewed when appropriate, but at least every two years. 

A Vice Chair will be appointed from the membership by the Chair.

Accountability

The Board is accountable to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Business Board (formerly Local Enterprise Partnership).

Annex A - How the Agreed Priorities will be taken forward

Table 1 below outlines how the thematic areas will be taken forward by the relevant GMCA administered board/group.

Theme	*Infrastructure Challenges (denotes Infrastructure Framework challenge)**	Focus Area	Lead Board/Group	Maintain Strategic Infrastructure Board Oversight (Yes/No)
1. Resilience	(11) Resilient to shocks and stresses	The definition we are working to, the standards we want to achieve and the actions and projects that contribute to the achievement of this goal.	GM Resilience Forum	No (to be confirmed)
2. Low carbon	(1) Zero Carbon Heat (2) Reducing Heat Demands (3) Changing Electricity Demands	Low Area Energy Plans and Heat Network Zones	Green City Region Partnership	Yes
3. Investment Plans	(10) Long-term Sustainable Funding Model	Supporting United Utilities with PR24 submission (2022- 10/23) Electricity North West with delivering RIIO-ED2 (2023-28) Cadent with delivering RIIO-ED2 (2021-26) Environment Agency – Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management 2021-27	Via (a) bilateral meetings (b) various carbon/energy boards (c) Integrated Water Management Plan arrangements for United Utilities and Environment Agency and (d) through devolution and thematic engagement with government departments and regulators.	Yes
4. Spatial	(9) A collaborative and coordinated approach	Providing a geographical focus to projects/delivery priorities and ensuring this integrates with supporting programmes and stakeholder engagement.	Growth location governance arrangements	No
5. Planning and Collaboration	(9) A collaborative and coordinated approach	Strengthen links to the Infrastructure Providers investment cycles, for: Future Demand Climate Change and Low Carbon Biodiversity Resilience Innovation	Green City Region Partnership Natural Capital Group Resilience forum Climate change a cross cutting theme for a number of groups/boards	No
6. Digital transformation of infrastructure	(8) Implementation of the GM Digital Strategy to provide pervasive, affordable, resilient digital connectivity	The role of data, digital systems and digital twins to improve the productivity of infrastructure and support the 1st and 4th thematic opportunities.	Digital Infrastructure Advisory Group	Yes
7. Influencing	(9) Collaborative and coordinated approach	Priorities identified through themes 1-6	None identified	Yes

Challenges 1,2,3,8,9,10 and 11 are listed in Table 1 above. The following challenges will be progressed through the following projects and Boards/Groups/Committees: 

4: Improve transport capacity and connectivity (TfGM) 
5: Support low emission vehicles (TfGM) 
6: Managing flood risk – Integrated Water Management Plan governance 
7: Maximize the value of green and blue infrastructure - Integrated Water Management Plan governance