Organisers: EASST, IRF, EBRD
This 90-minute session brings together multilateral development banks, national governments, technical specialists and civil society to discuss how collaborative multi-stakeholder approaches can transform the resilience and cost-effectiveness of road transport investments. It will look at resilience from the perspective of investing in road safety, sustainable infrastructure, and inclusive mobility.
The EBRD has pioneered innovative models for integrating stakeholder engagement throughout transport project lifecycles, demonstrating measurable improvements across its operational regions. Building on this leadership and bringing in leading voices from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, this session will examine how systematic stakeholder participation can become standard practice across the MDB community.
As MDBs invest billions in transport infrastructure annually, evidence shows that projects developed with robust stakeholder input deliver superior outcomes: reduced implementation delays, improved safety performance, greater community acceptance, and enhanced sustainability. Yet systematic approaches to upstream engagement remain inconsistent across institutions and regions.
Drawing on examples from EBRD countries of operation, panellists will explore how engaging the right stakeholders at the right time - and facilitating meaningful interaction between them - identifies risks, synthesises diverse knowledge, and delivers resilient infrastructure that serves genuine community needs.
The session will explore these dynamics through two complementary panels: first examining regional MDB-government collaboration, then broadening to multi-stakeholder interaction including civil society, private sector and technical practitioners.
MODERATORS
Emma MacLennan, President, EASST
Gonzalo Alcaraz, Director General, International Road Federation
SPEAKERS
Debbie Cousins, Director Operations, Environment & Sustainability Department at EBRD
Ines Fejzic, Senior Environmental and Social Specialist at OPEC Fund for International Development
Ilkin Dashdamirli, Lead advisor of International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Transport and Digital Development of Azerbaijan
Avi Silverman, Acting Director General of the FIA Foundation
Nicolas Miravalls, CEO of ORIS Materials Intelligence
Viktor Zagreba, Board member of the NGO Platform "Build Ukraine Back Better"/ Road Safety Policy Expert, Ukraine
Towshikur Rahman, Investment Officer at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
