New Study: Americans Lack Confidence, Clarity on Infrastructure and Stimulus Spending

Brightly's findings highlight opportunities for smarter capital planning and asset management

CARY, NORTH CAROLINA, June 23, 2021 (BUSINESS WIRE) — More than half (59%) of Americans lack clarity on how the American infrastructure and climate bill will assist their communities in the next 12 months, according to a new study from Brightly, the leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider of operations management solutions for infrastructure. The company’s latest polling of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers, titled the American Infrastructure Consumer Study: Government, further revealed that the majority of Americans do not trust their communities’ ability to leverage infrastructure-related stimulus funds effectively. 

There is also a clear generational divide around what to prioritize: younger Americans (47% of Gen Z), want their communities to prioritize sustainability, while older Americans want to prioritize infrastructure upgrades. Regardless of the need for improvement in their communities and their lack of confidence in government infrastructure management, most Americans also do not want to pay more in taxpayer dollars. Local governments must prioritize allocating funds strategically to win community trust. 

Additional insights from the American Infrastructure Consumer Study: Government included: 

• Lack of Awareness, Lack of Impact: Most Americans don't have much faith or knowledge of how the infrastructure bill will impact their communities. Either they don't believe that it will make an impact or they are not sure. More than half (59%) of Americans are not confident or do not know how the American infrastructure or climate bill will assist their communities in the next 12 months.
• Poor Public Confidence in Government Priorities: Most Americans do not think that their communities will prioritize funds correctly, to make the most impact. Seventy-two percent of Baby Boomers and more than half of Gen Z (61%) are not sure that their communities will prioritize the most important needs when infrastructure stimulus funds become available. 
• Rocky Roads Ahead: The vast majority of Americans do not think that the roads in their communities are improving. More than a third (34%) of Americans believe that the conditions of roads in their towns have worsened in the last five years. 
• Immediate Infrastructure Repair Supplants Sustainability (Except with Gen Z): There is a clear generational divide around what to prioritize: Younger Americans want their communities to prioritize sustainability, while older Americans want to prioritize infrastructure upgrades. Overall, 49% of Americans would prefer the government prioritize upgrading infrastructure over sustainability. Yet, almost half (47%) of Gen Z believes that the government should prioritize improving sustainability over infrastructure upgrades. In contrast, more than half (59%) of Baby Boomers believe that the government should prioritize upgrading cost-effective infrastructure over sustainability.
• When It Comes to Taxpayer Dollars, it’s a No-Go: Regardless of the need for upgrades in their communities, most Americans don't want to pay for them with taxpayer dollars. This speaks to a strong need for strategic asset management from facility managers and government leaders. 
• Ignorance Is Bliss: More than one third (34%) of Gen Z would rather not know what the condition of the bridges are in their community because “ignorance is bliss.”

“Across every generation, the majority of Americans are demanding more evidence in their local governments’ capabilities to improve infrastructure and prioritize stimulus funds correctly,” said Ashay Prabhu, VP strategic asset management at Brightly. “With a massive windfall approaching in the proposed infrastructure package, it’s crucial that government leaders recognize that data and systems are now advanced enough to demonstrate this accountability with wise spending choices. It isn’t all doom and gloom – by implementing strategic asset management, guardians of assets have the ability to stretch the dollar further, and more importantly, efficiently manage all infrastructure and sustainability needs. Fewer assets will fail and our scorecard will improve leading to greater community trust.” 

 These findings should serve as a rallying cry to change public opinion. 

Brightly has a strong history of helping local governments optimize capital spend via its capital forecasting solution and most recently, Predictor, launched in 2020. Organizations such as the Department of Education, Tasmania, and the City of Topeka, Kansas, rely on its capital planning solutions to justify stimulus, re-align tax and levies into optimized spending choices and unlock millions in hidden capital.

To learn more about strategic asset management, visit our website.

About the Study 

This survey was conducted via Dynata and polled 1,000 general U.S.-based consumers over 18 years of age in May 2021. Respondents were segmented and analyzed across age groups, gender, marital status, having children and household income. For complete survey methodology, please email Brightly@pancomm.com.