The ISNI is the government's strategy for the delivery by departments of public infrastructure in Northern Ireland. It is a rolling ten-year plan drafted by the SIB in consultation with, and informed by, its stakeholders. The total value of projects identified in the 2007 ISNI is approximately £18 billion.
The first ISNI was published in December 2005. It took departmental investment plans and merged them into a coherent programme that was both consistent with ministers' priorities and affordable. The strategy was subject to wide consultation with politicians, the business community and other interested parties.
The second ISNI was published in draft form in October 2007. Building on the first ISNI, SIB ensured that the revised strategy took account of a wide range of cross-cutting factors - such as the need for sustainability - as well as the experience gained from projects already underway.
ISNI is an important top-down mechanism through which ministers are able to direct public investment to those areas that they consider most important. In addition to drafting the strategy to meet ministers' needs, SIB provides support by analysing the impacts of departmental proposals holistically; by modelling the effects of different scenarios and by coordinating the input of third parties.