Too often, success is celebrated when a project is completed or a facility is inaugurated. Yet that is precisely when the harder work begins. Infrastructure only delivers value if the people responsible for operating, maintaining, repairing and improving it have the resources, authority and incentive to keep it functioning. If they do not, even the most sophisticated engineering gradually loses its purpose.

The distinction may seem subtle, but it is fundamental. A hospital building is an asset; healthcare is a service. A school building is an asset; education is a service. A water ambulance is an asset; emergency transport is a service. Climate resilience depends not only on the assets we create but also on the services they continue to provide.

Bangladesh's coastal water sector offers an instructive example. Over the years, hundreds of pond sand filters were installed to provide safe drinking water in areas affected by salinity. The technology addressed a genuine need, and many communities welcomed these investments. Yet a large number gradually fell into disrepair after being handed over to community management without long-term institutional and financial arrangements for operation and maintenance.

Broken pumps, clogged filters and missing spare parts often remained unattended because no organisation or individual had both the responsibility and the means to restore the service.

By contrast, many piped water supply systems established in similar coastal settings continue to function years after construction. The difference is not simply the technology. These systems are more likely to have designated operators, user tariffs that contribute to routine expenses, technical oversight, maintenance arrangements and institutions that remain accountable for service delivery. In other words, they were designed not only to build infrastructure but also to sustain a service.