Uncertainty lies at the heart of any project; after all, we are projecting our aspirations into a future that is inherently unknowable. The past is an unreliable guide to the future, as the last year has shown very well. The phrase “animal spirits” is often associated with stock market speculation, but in John Maynard Keynes’ original formulation it was about what it takes to invest in “a building in the City of London” along with Atlantic liners, railways and the like. Investors in property and infrastructure – let’s call them ‘projectors’ – take significant risks with their capital to provide the property and infrastructure that our economy and society needs for its continued growth. How do projectors mobilize the resources they need for their investment projects under uncertainty?

…