An Interview with Christophe Dossarps, CEO of the Sustainable Infrastructure Foundation
Alessandro Pecorari is the Policy and Public Affairs Manager at GIIA and a recently appointed Co-Chair of the private sector community at the Sustainable Infrastructure Foundation, where he works to bring contractors, investors, developers and advisors together to engage with the foundation.
Introduction: Who is SIF and what is Source?
The global infrastructure investment gap was estimated at the G20 summit at US$15 trillion by 2040. By improving the planning, preparation and delivery of sustainable infrastructure projects worldwide, the Sustainable Infrastructure Foundation (SIF) works to address that gap.
Led and funded by Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), SIF has a single mandate: to deliver Source to MDB member countries. Source is a UN-sponsored digital platform designed to empower governments to prepare and manage infrastructure projects that meet both public and private sector standards. By digitalising the project preparation process, Source enhances efficiency, improves transparency, and derisks projects through its alignment with international best practices across all procurement models. Crucially, Source helps bridge the gap between governments seeking investment and private financiers seeking clarity.
The Global Infrastructure Investor Association (GIIA) plays a critical role for Source, creating a shared language between public and private stakeholders through its Private Sector Community (PSC). Source’s PSC brings together contractors, investors, developers, and advisors to engage with SIF and contribute to the digital transformation of infrastructure pipelines. This collaboration improves communication, risk allocation, and project bankability, helping make infrastructure projects more attractive to investors.
In this interview, Alessandro Pecorari spoke with Christophe Dossarps, CEO of the Sustainable Infrastructure Foundation, on the positive impact Source is having. They discussed some of the key challenges and opportunities in creating a common language between the public and private sector.
Q: Thanks for joining me today, Christophe. As the CEO of the Sustainable Infrastructure Foundation, what key challenge is SIF aiming to address through the implementation of the Source platform?
SIF is the organisation behind Source, which is the global digital platform designed to help governments prepare, assess, and monitor infrastructure projects across all procurement models, including Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). About a decade ago, MDBs realised that while financing was available for infrastructure projects, many governments struggled to access it because they couldn’t consistently demonstrate readiness or project quality. To address this, the Source platform was created to standardise project preparation, empower governments, and improve efficiency by enabling interoperable systems, reducing data duplication, and allowing for customisation to meet specific national needs. 
Source serves as a unifying framework that integrates project management tools, multilateral standards, and national methodologies into a single, interoperable system tailored to each country’s needs. Developed and led by MDBs, and hosted by the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC), the Source platform aligns with global standards such as the QII Indicators and Principles, BlueDOT Network, and FAST-Infra. In doing so, it strengthens institutional capacity and ensures project continuity across political lifecycles.
The Source platform continues to demonstrate its pivotal role in driving systemic change across the global infrastructure ecosystem. Acting as a catalyst for transformation in over 50 countries, Source has helped governments standardise project pipelines, improve data-driven decision-making, and strengthen collaboration across ministries, building more transparent and resilient infrastructure systems that endure beyond political cycles.
Q: Collaboration with the private sector is clearly a central pillar of Source’s strategy. What are some of the key lessons or insights you’ve gained from engaging with investors, developers, and other private stakeholders through the Private Sector Community (or PSC)?
Collaboration with the private sector is absolutely critical, and it’s one of the aspects of Source that makes it truly unique. This approach really stems from a global call to action, echoed by platforms such as the G20 Infrastructure Working Group, where countries have been advocating for deeper and more structured dialogue with the private sector. The goal is to better understand the existing gaps in the system—specifically, why many governments have struggled to attract greater levels of private sector investment into their infrastructure pipelines.
Through this collaboration, we’re working to address these underlying issues and to build a shared understanding of the different priorities, perspectives, and ways of working that define both the public and private sectors. While their motivations and approaches may differ, the common objective is clear: to deliver high-quality, sustainable infrastructure that meets people’s needs.
We also see ourselves as moderators of emerging trends, particularly the growing interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) among our user countries. While there is a strong push to embed AI into the core of value creation, doing so is far from straightforward. Beyond the excitement, there are critical factors to consider, such as the rationality of business models, the actual value and return on investment, energy consumption, costs for hardware and software, security, and the quality of data needed to produce meaningful outputs. In this context, we act as gatekeepers for the responsible and measured adoption of AI. Our approach focuses on three priorities: first, identifying where AI can genuinely help users work faster and better; second, ensuring its integration into the Source platform is efficient and sustainable; and third, collaborating closely with governments and the private sector to understand their needs and translate them into AI-driven functionalities. Looking ahead, the possibilities are exciting: AI can enable predictive insights and advanced analytics that help our users design and deliver bankable, sustainable infrastructure projects.
In this sense, Source acts as a bridge between the public and private sectors. While empowering governments to prepare stronger, more transparent, and bankable projects, it ensures the private sector’s voice continues to shapes the platform’s features, strategic direction, and support for real-world investment decisions.
This two-way engagement is essential to creating trust, improving alignment, and ultimately fostering a more collaborative and investable global infrastructure environment.
Q: From the platforms origin to now, what would you say are some of the platform’s most recent successes?
Our Source Community is consistently growing. Looking ahead to 2026, we expect not only to meet our target of integrating five countries per year, but to nearly double that pace. The scaling and successful adoption of Source across multiple national systems is progressing very well, reflecting both the platform’s flexibility and the growing global demand for a standardised, transparent approach to infrastructure project preparation. This expansion reflects the tangible impact of Source and the strength of the network of governments, development partners, and private sector actors driving its success.
This year at the recent G20 Infrastructure Working Group, SIF’s leadership—alongside the Source PSC— was recognised through the successful authoring and endorsement of the G20 Practice Guide, which promotes a consistent and transparent approach to infrastructure preparation and management.
Further global recognition came from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which featured Source prominently in its publication, Guidelines on Improving the Delivery of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) through Digital Transformation Throughout the Project Lifecycle in Support of the Sustainable Development Goals (ECE/CECI/WP/PPP/2024/3). The UNECE document highlights Source as a leading instrument for enhancing transparency, accountability, and innovation in PPPs. This UN endorsement not only strengthens Source’s international credibility but also supports countries in attracting sustainable public and private investment.
We’ve also seen strong qualitative results. For instance, in 2024, The Economist’s Infrascope rankings elevated Ecuador from 15th to 9th place in the Latin America index, highlighting Source as a key factor behind this improvement. The platform was recognised for enhancing transparency and accessibility of project information. This is just one of several strong qualitative successes we have achieved.
With Source adoption up 26% since late 2024 and the value of infrastructure projects inside Source rising by 11% in just six months, momentum continues to build. Through its growing global community, shared best practices, and private sector collaboration, Source is not only transforming how infrastructure projects are prepared, but also how they are understood, trusted, and financed.
Q: How do you see Source evolving over the next few years, particularly in supporting governments to integrate sustainability and resilience more deeply into their infrastructure planning?
The Source platform continues to drive systemic change in its user countries. This role was reaffirmed during recent meetings of the Source Council, Donor and Source-user Communities held in Washington D.C., alongside the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings. Discussions highlighted how Source is helping governments to standardise project pipelines, enhance data-driven decision-making, and strengthen collaboration across ministries—ultimately building more resilient, transparent, and sustainable infrastructure systems that endure beyond political and economic cycles.
Source’s high demand reflects the growing recognition of its value among governments and development partners worldwide. Guided by insights from the Source Council, Donors and the communities, SIF is prioritising rapid scaling to meet demand and expand access for more countries. Expanding Source’s footprint and training more users will accelerate best-practice, deepen project collaboration, and strengthen structured preparation of infrastructure pipelines.
“Crucially, Source helps bridge the gap between governments seeking investment and private financiers seeking clarity.”
To achieve this, the Source Council and Donor Community are prioritising targeted operational support for countries that are already using the platform, helping them to further embed Source into their processes, This strategy is in addition to expanding Source to new countries requesting its implementation as a public good. These efforts form a key pillar of the Source 2025–2030 Strategy to ensure the platform’s long-term sustainability, scalability, and alignment with global infrastructure and SDGs.
We’re also in the process of delivering a major upgrade of the Source platform to meet the growing demand and support its continued global scaling. This effort represents one of our key priorities at the moment, as we work to ensure that Source remains robust, adaptable, and ready to serve a rapidly expanding user base. Importantly, this upgrade has been developed in close collaboration with our Private Sector Community. This was to ensure that each enhancement and new feature reflect both the current strategic priorities of private investors and the emerging trends shaping the sector over the next five to ten years. By aligning the platform’s evolution with the long-term direction of the market, we are helping future-proof Source, ensuring its relevance, resilience, and impact well into the next decade.
Ultimately, by expanding access, building capacity, and deepening engagement across its global community, Source aims to accelerate the digital transformation of infrastructure planning. By bridging the gap between ambition and execution, public and private actors, Source ensures that no country is left behind in the transition toward more sustainable, inclusive development. In essence, we are working towards a more reliable Source. This includes exploring potential tangible AI features for even faster work delivery, data analysis visualisation tools and predictive modelling to help users make better, future-proofed decisions.
For more information, visit https://public.sif-source.org/ or contact SIF directly. The organisation welcomes greater private sector engagement in advancing sustainability and digital transformation initiatives worldwide.
Contact details:
- CEO, Christophe Dossarps: cdossarps@sif-source.org
- Source PSC lead, Tamara Myers: tmyers@sif-source.org
All photos courtesy of the South African G20 Presidency, taken by Pure Motion Films 2025