Delivery Partner: Defining a Program
Once an Owner has shaped their vision for a Program and established the broad management framework, they need to define the structure in a way that will deliver the outcomes they are seeking to achieve. While defining a program, the owner and delivery partner need to navigate a variety of interfaces, stakeholders and challenges the program may address throughout its life cycle. To discuss the challenges while defining a program, I’m joined by two subject matter experts from Jacobs, Neil Walker, and Yuval Cohen, who bring experience from both the public and private sectors, regionally and internationally. Neil is a Vice President in our US and Canadian major programs team who brings over 30 years in structuring, development, and delivery of complex major programs in the infrastructure and rail sectors. Yuval is a Global Principal at Jacobs, and a 35+year project and alternative delivery veteran who works across several market sectors.
Defining Outcomes for Complex Programs
As programs grow in scale and complexity, the need to achieve Owner outcomes more efficiently and effectively becomes increasingly important. Owners and stakeholder expectations for programs and projects are becoming more ambitious, and more far ranging in scope and desired decarbonization, economic and social equity pathways. The level of skills and disciplines required to deliver them successfully are increasingly more sophisticated and challenging to resource.
The environment within which we deliver programs has undergone notable transformations – programs are more complex, more technologically advanced and have more interfaces to manage. The core objective is no longer securing funding and constructing assets; it’s defining the comprehensive lifecycle of a program so that it delivers excellent performance, social equity, environmental sustainability, and a cultural and economic legacy.
Major programs are also required to be resilient to climate change effects, technological changes, and offer opportunities for inclusion, employment, and on-the-job training. In contrast, resource supply is increasingly constrained due to mounting market pressures, such as high-demand, cost escalation, inflation, and global supply chain issues, which affect both the labor and materials needed for design and construction. Funding challenges are also increasingly evident, not only for the first-in capital costs, but also the life cycle costs of operations and maintenance.
“Defining program outcomes at the outset of a program across Owners, sponsors and stakeholders is critical. It is essential to create alignment behind these outcomes from the outset, to build the capacity and capabilities needed to achieve them and navigate through the complex interfaces so that they will be delivered effectively and efficiently. “ Neil Walker, Jacobs VP US & Canadian Major Programs
These program drivers present ever greater challenges to an Owner, who is often managing a series of parallel, operational activities that require their day-to-day focus. Many of these challenges can be addressed through a collaborative approach to delivery, where delivery partnerships are leveraged to bring in the relevant expertise early in the definition stage of a program and are also incentivized to achieve shared long term program outcomes.
Creating a Collaborative Culture to Achieve the Defined Outcome
Delivering complex programs with intricate interfaces and uncertain outcomes presents formidable challenges during the definition and delivery phases. Our industry is already transforming the way we navigate these challenges, with enhanced levels of participation from stakeholders and private sector providers such as contractors, program managers, designers, O&M providers as well as developers, investors, and lenders.
“With a more performance-based procurement strategy, Delivery Partnerships can foster a truly collaborative and value adding approach to the delivery of transformative and predictable program outcomes. This collaborative culture brings the entire delivery team - both public clients and their private partners- together around a shared vision and enables crucial conversations to happen at the earliest stages of a program.” Yuval Cohen, Jacobs Global Principal
This collaborative culture also creates incentives for creative and innovative solutions, whether in design or construction sequencing, to allow better life cycle outcomes. One example is fostering innovation and the pathway to achieving net zero and decarbonization outcomes. Based on recent discussions with several Owners, we see that the number of programs with this as a core focus will increase exponentially over the coming years, driving new ways of thinking around delivery partnerships that focus on a high level of collaboration and focus on achieving more assured outcomes.
In parallel, we see substantial risks associated with technology transformation and the evolution of best practices, customs, safety standards and design criteria. The infrastructure to be delivered may change in form and function within a few years and Owners will need the support of their supply chain, key stakeholders, trusted advisors, and delivery partners to adapt to these changes and to address associated evolutionary risks in a cost effective and efficient way. Delivery Partnerships that are incentivized to recognize and manage this complexity, foster creative and innovative solutions to program delivery to achieve program outcomes. Delivery Partnerships are proving to be the alternative to more traditional, arms-length Owner/contractor relationships.
Stay tuned for the next installment of these conversations!
Read my other articles here:
Delivery Partner: A Collaborative Way to Deliver Major Programs
Water Account Executive Product Specialist at Autodesk
1yThis resonates so well with what many of my clients are complaining about. They are getting bombarded with new technology and digitalization plans, and all they want is a non-biased group to come in and help them figure out what they need to do for the next ten years that will be right for future generations. It is not just investing in technology but proper engineering practices, the hardware, the materials. the budgeting, and then understanding how to implement operations once everything is created, but as you say, without the core outcomes established, the other pieces will be in complete chaos. Thank you for this article!
Vice President at WSP USA
1yThanks for sharing!