Shivani Manaktala served as the Team Leader for SARIC. 

The South Asia Regional Infrastructure Connectivity initiative, known as SARIC, was established to support better energy and transport connectivity across South Asia. Its Training and Networking Services programme focused on the people and institutions behind that infrastructure, strengthening the knowledge, practical capability and professional relationships needed to plan and deliver quality investments.

Working across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the programme brought together mid- and senior-level professionals from government, the private sector, academia and civil society. Its ambition was not only to build individual skills, but also to enable stronger cross-border exchange and collaboration.

Over its lifetime, the programme exceeded many of its targets, delivering 17 courses, engaging 483 professionals across the region, and creating opportunities for collaboration between governments, multilateral institutions, academia and industry. Participants explored issues ranging from road and dam safety to regional power markets, renewable energy, resilient infrastructure, supply chains and women’s leadership. The programme also connected South Asian professionals with Australian technical expertise and practical approaches.

Yet when I reflect on SARIC's journey, I find myself thinking less about the numbers and more about the people behind them. Infrastructure is ultimately delivered by individuals who share a commitment to improving lives and creating opportunities for their communities. The roads, energy systems and transport corridors that connect nations are brought to life through collaboration among people who believe in a common purpose. In many ways, that is what SARIC achieved best. It created a platform where infrastructure professionals from across South Asia and Australia could come together around a shared aspiration: advancing connectivity and development for the benefit of the region.

One of the most important lessons from SARIC is that meaningful partnerships are built when organisations invest the time to understand each other's motivations, challenges and ambitions. Our partnerships with DFAT, the World Bank, IFC, and leading training institutions thrived because they were anchored in a common purpose. Technical expertise and governance structures provided the foundation, but an alignment of intent, a willingness to listen and a collective commitment to improving infrastructure outcomes transformed those partnerships into genuine collaboration.

We moved beyond simply responding to stated requirements and worked together to understand the deeper needs of countries and participants, adapting solutions along the way. This enabled us to combine global expertise with local realities, ensuring that activities remained relevant and responsive.

The strong relationships developed with universities, technical experts and training providers over the life of the programmeme contributed to consistently high-quality learning experiences, with participants rating courses highly and reporting significant gains in knowledge and confidence. They also had opportunities to consider how their learning could be applied to challenges in their own countries and workplaces.

What emerged clearly for me is that the strongest partnerships are not transactional. They are built on trust, mutual respect and a shared sense of purpose. When those elements are present, partners can be more candid about what is needed, more flexible when circumstances change and more ambitious about what they can achieve together.

The second lesson is about community. While training programmes inevitably conclude, communities endure. SARIC deliberately invested in creating opportunities for participants to build relationships beyond the classroom, recognising that regional connectivity is as much about human connections as it is about physical infrastructure.

Today, the SARIC alumni network spans 483 professionals who continue to engage through networking events, social media platforms and informal exchanges. For some alumni, the network has become a place to find technical advice or test an idea. For others, it offers access to peers who understand the practical challenges of delivering infrastructure in the region.

The true value of this community became apparent following the recent tragedy in Nepal.

Alumni, training partners and former colleagues from across the region reached out to their Nepali peers, offering support and solidarity. They were no longer connected simply by a programme. They were connected by shared experiences, mutual respect and genuine care for one another.

For me, this was a reminder that the measure of a programme lies not only in what it delivers during implementation, but also in what endures after it ends. The connections formed through SARIC continue to create value in ways that no results framework could fully capture.

The programme met or exceeded many of its direct training and networking goals. Its longer-term contribution will be seen in what alumni do with the knowledge, confidence and relationships they have gained: the decisions they influence, the practices they improve and the collaborations they carry forward.

While this phase of SARIC may be ending, I am optimistic that one of its lasting legacies will be a network of professionals with trusted peers across the region. They can continue to exchange ideas, seek advice and work through common challenges together.

Infrastructure connects places. SARIC’s contribution was to connect many of the people responsible for shaping it. That is the real infrastructure we built, and it is what I am proudest to leave behind.