Topic: Project initiation & mobilisation

By Daniel Cojocaru
February 5th 2024

Initiating and Delivering Major Projects in Regulated Industries Full Report

The water sector is gearing up to deliver a multi-billion pound programme of major projects to deliver water supply solutions equivalent to the demand from more than 9 million people.

Chaired by Tideway CEO Andy Mitchell CBE, this seminar will examine the challenges and opportunities of delivering programmes at this scale in a sector that is shaped by economic and environmental regulation and where most asset owners have been focused on operations, maintenance and renewals since privatisation in the 1980s.

Speakers will share insight from their experience of successful delivery in other regulated sectors focusing on areas including funding & finance options, establishing appropriate governance, managing the impact of the 5 year regulatory cycle, building a major project capability and culture, and opportunities for collaboration between asset owners.

Delegates will also hear from RAPID (Regulators Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development) the initiative that brings OFWAT, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and the Environment Agency about its work with sector stakeholders to facilitate project development. In addition, OFWAT itself will discuss how it intends to evolve its regulatory role to support effective project delivery,

By Daniel Cojocaru
November 7th 2023

Initiating and Delivering Major Projects in Regulated Industries Highlight Report

The water sector is gearing up to deliver a multi-billion pound programme of major projects to deliver water supply solutions equivalent to the demand from more than 9 million people.

Chaired by Tideway CEO Andy Mitchell CBE, this seminar will examine the challenges and opportunities of delivering programmes at this scale in a sector that is shaped by economic and environmental regulation and where most asset owners have been focused on operations, maintenance and renewals since privatisation in the 1980s.

Speakers will share insight from their experience of successful delivery in other regulated sectors focusing on areas including funding & finance options, establishing appropriate governance, managing the impact of the 5 year regulatory cycle, building a major project capability and culture, and opportunities for collaboration between asset owners.

Delegates will also hear from RAPID (Regulators Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development) the initiative that brings OFWAT, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and the Environment Agency about its work with sector stakeholders to facilitate project development. In addition, OFWAT itself will discuss how it intends to evolve its regulatory role to support effective project delivery,

By Myrna Rickards
September 19th 2023

The Unresolved Issue of Estimating and Forecasting Highlight Report

To be deemed a success, projects are generally judged on how well they delivered against their quadruple objectives of time, cost, scope and benefits when the project completes. To gain and maintain confidence through the journey to completion, projects will also be judged on how well they have delivered on milestones and the accuracy, or perhaps the believability, of their forecasts for the subsequent milestones through to the end of the project.

Therefore, get the estimates wrong and what could otherwise be a successful project could be viewed as a failure. Overestimating may prevent a project from getting started in the first place or it will tie up investment and resources which could be invested in other projects. Underestimating may result in a project becoming unaffordable if additional investment cannot be secured or unviable of the reduction in scope or later delivery erodes the promised benefits.

The Major Projects Association has looked at estimating and forecasting on three prior occasions. In 1984 through the lens of scenario planning, in 2013 through the lens of project controls and lessons from the 2012 Games, and in 2021 through the lens of benchmarking. Scanning the reports from these previous seminars highlights that while we have sought to improve our ability to estimate and forecast over the past four decades that the challenges we face have increased in parallel and frankly, it remains an unresolved issue. In many ways it could be argued that the level of market volatility we are currently facing means the gap between estimating performance and capability has never been greater. A project estimating 4% CPI for inflation on materials two years ago could be facing with a ten fold error as some materials have increased by more than 40% since. How can we estimate when there is such volatility? Do we need to place more emphasis on forecasting and mechanisms to adapt projects as assumptions upon which they are based veer to extreme alternatives?

Join us for this seminar where we will explore the unresolved issue of estimating and forecasting. We will gain insights from and an update on best practice guidance from the Association of Cost Engineers (ACOSTE), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) and from Oxford Global Projects on Reference Class Forecasting (RCF). We will then explore the practitioner’s view from both a client perspective before looking at how estimating and forecasting might evolve or even transform. Join us to give your best prediction and help us resolve the unresolved issue of estimating and forecasting.

This event is followed by an evening Data and Digital Showcase on how projects are embracing data analytics, AI benchmarking services and date trusts to improve project controls. – you will need to register separately for this if you would like to attend both parts.

By Manon Bradley
February 25th 2022

Better Early Project Conversations – the human side of project initiation

The Association commissioned this study to provide further support to what is a vital stage of major projects, with the objective of encouraging professionals to focus on how leaders work and talk together. As one senior Association member told us, ‘What really matters is the quality and depth of the early conversations between the key players.’ This report provides guidance and insight on what those conversations ought to cover and how they should be conducted.

At the end of the report there is a non-exhaustive list of topics for these early conversations and some prompts for the issues they should cover.

By Jonathan Norman
January 24th 2018

Are we getting better at Project Initiation? Highlight Report

The UK has demonstrated a good track record for major project delivery when the conditions for success are right. But too often insufficient time is spent at the start of projects creating those conditions. This means that too often the UK track record for major project delivery has been poor.

As the Major Projects Association Chairman Sir Tim Laurence explains, “We do know that we should take time on initiation, but we are not always firm enough in our demands for time and resources to make sure everything is as clear as we can get it.”

Given the scale of the UK’s ambition to invest in major projects as a critical driver for the economy, it is vital that this performance in the early stages of projects is turned around. Since the Major Projects Association’s formation in 1981, many events have been held and many reports have been written in the attempt to understand why major projects go well and to learn when they go wrong. Getting major projects set up right from the start is repeatedly highlighted as the critical factor in project success and, conversely, its absence usually leads to failure. The Major Project Association’s recently published handbook on the subject highlights some fundamental lessons to aid major project professionals avoid the mistakes of the past. Delivered as the “ten tenets of major projects initiation” it is intended to help senior level sponsor, client and supply chain leaders across the public and private sectors.

Despite this major effort across the sector to analyse and improve performance, the question remains “are we getting better at Project Initiation?” It is a question that will be tackled at a forthcoming Major Projects Association discussion designed to help project delivery professionals to better understand how project initiation techniques are evolving to provide major projects with the best possible start.

By Jonathan Norman
September 21st 2016

34th Annual Conference, Major Project Initiation – making the right start Full Report

The importance of good project initiation has been echoed time and again by industry leaders and government bodies including the Public Accounts Committee, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and the National Audit Office as well as by the Major Projects Association:

“On every project we end up with lessons learned, but they are not – they remain as lessons to be learned, next time. But next time there is not enough time and so history repeats itself.” MPA 2007

“If we were more transparent in the initiation stage of projects we would get a lot of the bad news out of the way and not suffer from it later.” MPA 2014

“Success or failure is determined during initiation. The rest is just a battle to preserve or recover value.” MPA 2016

And yet, still, projects are not giving sufficient time and attention to this critical initiation period. This interactive conference will consider what lessons can be learned from successful project initiation under a variety of conditions and settings. We will try to understand what levers can be pulled to ensure that we learn from these examples rather than just repeating the mistakes of the past.

At a recent MPA event, Designing and Delivering Major Capital Programmes, participants articulated the conditions for the successful initiation of major capital programmes as being: alignment with a simply stated purpose; the adoption of a systemic approach to project initiation resulting in a very clear governance structure; and commitment, strong leadership and political consensus.

This year’s MPA annual conference seeks to explore these themes further by exploring questions such as:
• Is success dependent upon a clear vision and aligned interests?
• Do major capital programmes need a political sponsor to keep them from unravelling?
• Is sufficient attention paid to organisational design and leadership selection?
• What review systems and processes are used successfully in the various industries responsible for delivering major projects?
• What expertise is readily available within the public and private sector to support major projects at initiation or pre-initiation stage?
We are delighted that the keynote speech will be made by Lord Browne of Madingley, former Chief Executive of BP and author of the March 2013 report to government, Getting a Grip – How to Improve Major Projects Execution and Control in Government in which he clearly stated his belief that “There is still insufficient attention given prior to the initiation of projects.” International perspectives will be provided by Peder Berg of the Norwegian Treasury and Radia Benamghar of The World Bank.

By Jonathan Norman
September 21st 2016

34th Annual Conference, Major Project Initiation – making the right start Short Report

The importance of good project initiation has been echoed time and again by industry leaders and government bodies including the Public Accounts Committee, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and the National Audit Office as well as by the Major Projects Association:

“On every project we end up with lessons learned, but they are not – they remain as lessons to be learned, next time. But next time there is not enough time and so history repeats itself.” MPA 2007

“If we were more transparent in the initiation stage of projects we would get a lot of the bad news out of the way and not suffer from it later.” MPA 2014

“Success or failure is determined during initiation. The rest is just a battle to preserve or recover value.” MPA 2016

And yet, still, projects are not giving sufficient time and attention to this critical initiation period. This interactive conference will consider what lessons can be learned from successful project initiation under a variety of conditions and settings. We will try to understand what levers can be pulled to ensure that we learn from these examples rather than just repeating the mistakes of the past.

At a recent MPA event, Designing and Delivering Major Capital Programmes, participants articulated the conditions for the successful initiation of major capital programmes as being: alignment with a simply stated purpose; the adoption of a systemic approach to project initiation resulting in a very clear governance structure; and commitment, strong leadership and political consensus.

This year’s MPA annual conference seeks to explore these themes further by exploring questions such as:
• Is success dependent upon a clear vision and aligned interests?
• Do major capital programmes need a political sponsor to keep them from unravelling?
• Is sufficient attention paid to organisational design and leadership selection?
• What review systems and processes are used successfully in the various industries responsible for delivering major projects?
• What expertise is readily available within the public and private sector to support major projects at initiation or pre-initiation stage?
We are delighted that the keynote speech will be made by Lord Browne of Madingley, former Chief Executive of BP and author of the March 2013 report to government, Getting a Grip – How to Improve Major Projects Execution and Control in Government in which he clearly stated his belief that “There is still insufficient attention given prior to the initiation of projects.” International perspectives will be provided by Peder Berg of the Norwegian Treasury and Radia Benamghar of The World Bank.

By Jonathan Norman
September 21st 2016

34th Annual Conference, Major Project Initiation – making the right start Highlight Report

The importance of good project initiation has been echoed time and again by industry leaders and government bodies including the Public Accounts Committee, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and the National Audit Office as well as by the Major Projects Association:

“On every project we end up with lessons learned, but they are not – they remain as lessons to be learned, next time. But next time there is not enough time and so history repeats itself.” MPA 2007

“If we were more transparent in the initiation stage of projects we would get a lot of the bad news out of the way and not suffer from it later.” MPA 2014

“Success or failure is determined during initiation. The rest is just a battle to preserve or recover value.” MPA 2016

And yet, still, projects are not giving sufficient time and attention to this critical initiation period. This interactive conference will consider what lessons can be learned from successful project initiation under a variety of conditions and settings. We will try to understand what levers can be pulled to ensure that we learn from these examples rather than just repeating the mistakes of the past.

At a recent MPA event, Designing and Delivering Major Capital Programmes, participants articulated the conditions for the successful initiation of major capital programmes as being: alignment with a simply stated purpose; the adoption of a systemic approach to project initiation resulting in a very clear governance structure; and commitment, strong leadership and political consensus.

This year’s MPA annual conference seeks to explore these themes further by exploring questions such as:
• Is success dependent upon a clear vision and aligned interests?
• Do major capital programmes need a political sponsor to keep them from unravelling?
• Is sufficient attention paid to organisational design and leadership selection?
• What review systems and processes are used successfully in the various industries responsible for delivering major projects?
• What expertise is readily available within the public and private sector to support major projects at initiation or pre-initiation stage?
We are delighted that the keynote speech will be made by Lord Browne of Madingley, former Chief Executive of BP and author of the March 2013 report to government, Getting a Grip – How to Improve Major Projects Execution and Control in Government in which he clearly stated his belief that “There is still insufficient attention given prior to the initiation of projects.” International perspectives will be provided by Peder Berg of the Norwegian Treasury and Radia Benamghar of The World Bank.

By Jonathan Norman
June 29th 2016

Initiating and delivering Major Digital Projects Short Report

Many major projects include the realisation of a physical asset and its subsequent benefits, major digital projects are transformational but often do not engender a physical change, though they are “game changers” for the organisations that undertake them. Whether they are driven by a leader’s vision, regulatory constraints or the necessity to adapt, they modify existing business models and behaviours and drive profound transformations within organisations.

Major Digital projects:

• require new skill sets – in delivery and in embedding their outcomes in daily operations
• they must take account of the impacts on their host organisations and the way they interact with their entire ecosystem
• introduce new and more agile delivery approaches that challenge the traditional approaches to the management and governance of projects, in particular from a budget and a risk management perspective
• support the gathering of a massive amount of complex data that requires appropriate insight to enhance organisational planning.

The objective of this seminar is to explore both the initiation and delivery of a variety of Major Digital Projects to identify key lessons that can be applied from the digital world to the more traditional project arena and inform those who have responsibility for major digital projects.

Insight to both challenges and opportunities from clients and suppliers in the public and private sectors will be provided, including: the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme, Transport for London Revenue Collection, Smart Metering, Digital Technologies to improve Asset Data, BBC digital services and Automating London Underground.

By Jonathan Norman
June 29th 2016

Initiating and delivering Major Digital Projects Highlight Report

Many major projects include the realisation of a physical asset and its subsequent benefits, major digital projects are transformational but often do not engender a physical change, though they are “game changers” for the organisations that undertake them. Whether they are driven by a leader’s vision, regulatory constraints or the necessity to adapt, they modify existing business models and behaviours and drive profound transformations within organisations.

Major Digital projects:

• require new skill sets – in delivery and in embedding their outcomes in daily operations
• they must take account of the impacts on their host organisations and the way they interact with their entire ecosystem
• introduce new and more agile delivery approaches that challenge the traditional approaches to the management and governance of projects, in particular from a budget and a risk management perspective
• support the gathering of a massive amount of complex data that requires appropriate insight to enhance organisational planning.

The objective of this seminar is to explore both the initiation and delivery of a variety of Major Digital Projects to identify key lessons that can be applied from the digital world to the more traditional project arena and inform those who have responsibility for major digital projects.

Insight to both challenges and opportunities from clients and suppliers in the public and private sectors will be provided, including: the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme, Transport for London Revenue Collection, Smart Metering, Digital Technologies to improve Asset Data, BBC digital services and Automating London Underground.