Partner Spotlight: Adapting Infrastructure for a Changing Climate with Oxford Program for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (OPSIS).

As climate change accelerates, infrastructure systems across Europe face growing pressures. Interconnected transport, telecommunications, and energy networks are increasingly vulnerable to disruptions from floods, heatwaves, and storms. The Oxford Programme for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (OPSIS), based at the University of Oxford, is working to ensure these vital systems can adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing climate.

OPSIS leads research and education on sustainable and resilient infrastructure. By applying advanced methodologies and tools, the group supports evidence-based decision-making across transport, water, energy, and telecoms systems. Over the past decade, OPSIS has helped shape adaptation strategies in countries including Vietnam, Argentina, and Kenya, and now brings that expertise to the MIRACA project.

“Our work is about helping infrastructure systems prepare for future shocks. MIRACA allows us to test these systems at scale, using new tools and methods that can directly inform policy and investment” explains the OPSIS team.

Advancing interdependent network modelling for adaptation

Within MIRACA, OPSIS leads Work Package 2, which focuses on modelling the complex, interdependent infrastructure networks that span Europe.

Their objectives include:

• Building pan-European networks of transport, telecoms, and electricity infrastructure.
• Modelling passenger and freight flows across multi-modal transport systems.
• Simulating failure scenarios and their cascading impacts on economic sectors.
• Developing a cost-benefit analysis tool for evaluating adaptation options.

By stress-testing infrastructure under a range of climate hazard scenarios, OPSIS helps reveal where vulnerabilities lie—and what measures will be most effective and efficient to address them.

System-of-systems expertise in climate risk and adaptation

OPSIS brings a unique system-of-systems approach to MIRACA. Their team combines expertise in infrastructure modelling, climate risk analysis, and decision-support tool development. Having previously worked on similar models in East Africa and Latin America, OPSIS now applies this expertise at the pan-European scale.

“Our strength lies in modelling interdependencies and flows across networks” the team says. “We’re also supporting partners across other MIRACA work packages, providing feedback on data integration and systems thinking.”

Their contribution will be essential to the development of a harmonized framework that links infrastructure risk, economic impact, and adaptation effectiveness.

Driving climate adaptation impact through collaboration

For OPSIS, MIRACA represents more than just another research project, it’s an opportunity to work with long-standing collaborators across Europe. The project emerged from a trusted partnership with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where MIRACA’s Principal Investigator Elco Koks previously worked within OPSIS.

“MIRACA brings together people who care deeply about applying science to real-world problems. It’s a privilege to be part of such a motivated and multidisciplinary team” OPSIS notes.

Expected outcomes from the project include:

• New pan-European datasets that link infrastructure vulnerability and climate hazard exposure.
• Case studies that highlight the importance of local context in adaptation planning.
• A decision-support platform to help European agencies prioritise investments and policies.

Through these tools and datasets, OPSIS hopes MIRACA will help close the gap between climate modelling and actionable decision-making.

About OPSIS

The Oxford Programme for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (OPSIS), based within Oxford University, is dedicated to advancing sustainable, resilient infrastructure through high-impact research and education. The team specialises in network and risk modelling, decision-support tool development, and evidence-based policy design, with global experience spanning multiple continents and sectors.

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MIRACA: Advancing infrastructure resilience for a changing climate

Led by a consortium of leading researchers, engineers, and adaptation specialists, the Multi-hazard Infrastructure Risk Assessment for Climate Adaptation (MIRACA) project strengthens Europe’s infrastructure systems through open-access modelling, technical tools, and data-driven guidance. MIRACA equips public authorities with the evidence and resources they need to assess risks, explore solutions, and invest in resilient infrastructure that empowers local and national adaptation planning across Europe.