Overview
DAFNI (Data & Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure) is a UK national research platform funded by UKRI and led by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). It provides researchers and policy-makers with high-performance computing resources, shared datasets, and a growing library of simulation models to explore how national infrastructure systems interact and respond to future pressures.
DAFNI enables system-of-systems analysis spanning energy, transport, water, digital communications, and other critical sectors. By providing a shared computational environment, it reduces duplication of effort and facilitates collaboration across disciplines and institutions.
Timeline & Location
2017: DAFNI concept funded under UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund. 2019: Platform launched and operational. 2020–present: Ongoing expansion of model library, datasets, and user community. Location: United Kingdom.
Stakeholders
STFC (Science and Technology Facilities Council) as lead operator. UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) as funder. University research groups across engineering, geography, and environmental science. Government departments including DEFRA, DfT, and BEIS. Infrastructure operators and consultancies.
Digitalisation & Data
DAFNI provides a cloud-hosted, HPC-enabled platform for running infrastructure models at scale. Key digital capabilities include: containerised model execution, large-scale dataset hosting and sharing, workflow orchestration for multi-model pipelines, and visualisation tools for spatial and temporal outputs.
The platform supports open and reproducible modelling practices, enabling researchers to share models and datasets within a governed environment.
Hazards
Exogenous Hazards
Climate change impacts including flooding, heatwaves, and sea-level rise; demographic shifts and population growth placing stress on infrastructure capacity.
Endogenous Hazards
Data quality and availability challenges across sectors; model maturity variations; capability gaps in cross-sector integration and validation.
Cost & Benefit
Cost: Funded through UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund; ongoing operational costs borne by STFC.
Benefit: Reduces duplication of modelling effort across research groups; enables scenario-based policy analysis at national scale; supports evidence-based infrastructure investment decisions; accelerates cross-sector collaboration.
Resilience Principles Assessment
Assessment of meeting Principles of Resilient Infrastructure
Clearly Defined Accountabilities and Shared Responsibilities (P1)
Shared platform model promotes multi-stakeholder collaboration across research institutions, government, and industry.
Proactively Protected (P2)
Supports assessment and simulation of extreme events including flooding and climate scenarios, enabling proactive risk identification.
Environmentally Integrated (P3) To Do
Environmental integration of the platform itself and its modelling outputs is an area for further development.
Socially Engaged (P4) To Do
Public engagement and social dimensions of infrastructure modelling are areas for further development.
Adaptively Transforming (P5)
Enables exploration of future scenarios and alternative infrastructure configurations, supporting adaptive planning and transformation.
Continually Learning and Improving (P6)
Supports scenario-based analysis and maintains a growing model library enabling iterative learning about infrastructure system behaviours.
Futures
DAFNI continues to expand its model library and dataset catalogue. Future priorities include deeper integration of climate projections, enhanced cross-sector coupling of models, and wider adoption by government departments for policy appraisal. The platform is positioned to become a key enabler of digital-twin approaches to national infrastructure planning.