Megaproject Lab

Every megaproject is a dynamic system. Political variables embedded.

Megaproject Lab is an applied research initiative on how economic, institutional, contractual and delivery systems interact with politics to shape infrastructure project outcomes over time.

01 · THE PREMISE

Political dynamics are not external constraints on infrastructure delivery — they are endogenous drivers of project evolution.

The Lab builds conceptual structures for understanding how projects evolve: feedback loops, lock-ins, and risk migration across the infrastructure lifecycle.

Core Premise

The founding note: why political dynamics belong inside the model of a megaproject, not outside it.

Read Note Nº1

Systems Architecture

Conceptual structures for project evolution: feedback loops, lock-ins, and risk migration across lifecycles.

View Architecture

Interactive Simulation

Explore how politically driven decisions generate evolving delivery and fiscal risks at each stage of a megaproject.

Open Simulation

02 · THE EVIDENCE BASE

The calibration base: 500 megaprojects across 100 countries

500 megaprojects, 100 countries, USD 1bn and above — coded case by case: risks, mechanisms, outcomes and sources · Open the interactive map

03 · RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS

The weekly case series

One real megaproject a week, read as a system: the feedback loop, the mechanism, or the risk migration behind its outcome. Published on LinkedIn.

Read the newsletter

Working notes

Foundational notes on the Lab's conceptual frame — the premise, the architecture, and the vocabulary of megaprojects as dynamic systems.

Start with Note Nº1

04 · PRODUCTS

Megaproject PILOT

FIRST PRODUCT OF THE LAB

An AI-assisted tool for strategic conversations about megaproject risk across the project lifecycle — calibrated against the Lab's base of 500 real megaprojects.

Visit PILOT

05 · FOUNDER

Juan Alberti, Ph.D.

FOUNDER & CEO

juanalberti.com

Uruguayan-Spanish economist advising governments, international organizations and companies, with experience across 30 countries in portfolio prioritization, project appraisal and ex-post evaluation, risk analysis, and the design of analytical and decision frameworks and tools for major projects.

He holds a Ph.D. from University College London and a master’s degree from the University of Washington. He publishes on public investment and megaproject governance, and contributes regularly to international policy fora and public debate.

“The real drivers of infrastructure outcomes emerge after political approval, when projects move from technical logic to a system shaped by institutional frictions.”

From “The hidden rupture in public infrastructure decision-making” — DEVEX

Research dialogue, institutional collaboration, or dataset partnerships

The Lab works with governments, international financial institutions, academia and industry.

Contact the Secretariat