Omega Seminar Series 2014
Megaproject: The Effective Design and Delivery of Mega Infrastructure Projects in the European UnionProf. Naomi Brooks, School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds 29th January 2014 In this seminar, Professor Naomi Brookes will review the work that has been undertaken to date by the MEGAPROJECT, an EU funded research project examining European megaprojects. MEGAPROJECT comprises a network of over 80 multi-disciplinary researchers working together to improve the design and delivery of European megaprojects. MEGAPROJECT has collated a substantive portfolio of cases that have been made publically available. Naomi discusses the difficulties in gathering megaproject empirics; the challenges in cross-case analysis in this context. She discusses how novel approaches to analysing the MEGAPROJECT Portfolio have shed new light on megaproject behaviour and speculate what this may mean for those who commission, design and deliver megaprojects in Europe. |
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Some Plans for Megaprojects that Worked … and One that Might: An examination of proposals in North-west EnglandProf. Ian Wray, Department of Civic Design, University of Liverpool, Liverpool 5th February 2014 Peel Holdings is one of the largest and most powerful companies in north west England. Their Ocean Gateway strategy, launched in 2008, has been transformed into a wider Atlantic Gateway strategy, receiving support from the highest levels in government. The lecture will introduce the strategy, consider its characteristics, and draw some comparisons with a number of other significant UK infrastructure plans. |
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Mega Infrastructure Projects and Sustainability: 21st Century climate change challengesJez Richardson, Head of Climate Change and Policy, URS/Scott Wilson, London/Basingstoke 12th February 2014 |
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Effects of Policy and Institutional Design on Performance of PPPs for Mega Infrastructure ProjectsProf. Rosário Macário, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon 5th March 2014 |
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UK Mega Infrastructure Projects and Value for Money: The NAO experienceNaomi Flood & Alison Hood, Senior Analyst & Audit Manager, National Audit Office UK 12th March 2014 Where public sector projects are delivered well the results are impressive, however the work of the NAO has shown that around 75 per cent of projects are completed late, over budget, or do not deliver the benefits expected. Our work has consistently demonstrated that the quality of a project’s initiation often dictates the likelihood of its success. Using data from 5000 projects, we set out to try and establish why project teams do not consistently follow good practice in setting up projects. We found striking patterns in the reasons for projects failing, which all related to the importance of understanding the delivery environment and complexity of the project when making a decision whether to proceed. Organisations which really understood the inherent challenges of their project were able to create an environment for success at the earliest stages of its design, while those which did not set themselves up for failure at a later stage. In this presentation, we will present the Delivery Environment Complexity Analytic (DECA), a tool used by clients, sponsors and NAO teams as the basis for understanding the challenges faced in delivering objectives and outcomes in majorprojects. |
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Mega Transport Projects and the Sustainability Challenges: Some international perspectivesBarry Hutton, Private Planning and Transport Consultant, Sometime Head of the Planning School at University of West of England 26th March 2014 Mega Transport Projects (MTPs) are unlikely to be built, or even planned, unless they provide improved capacity or speed. This carries an implication of more movement and therefore the use of more resources and the production of more pollution. This raises two questions: first, how may MTPs be configured to minimise their environmental impact and, second, are there contexts in which an MTP may have a net beneficial effect upon the sustainability the transport system at large. These are complex issues which require a definition of “the transport system at large”, together with an understanding of how the impact of an MTP upon that system may be estimated and then evaluated. |
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Politics and Megaprojects in London: what lessons have we learned?Kulveer Ranger, Director, Past Transport Advisor to Mayor Boris Johnson, SERCO Group Plc. Hook 30th April 2014 London has just gone through an era where it has had more megaprojects undertaken then at any time since World War II. From upgrading the Tube, building a new Olympic Park, digging the largest transport project in Europe – Crossrail, to delivering a whole new mode of public transport – the Boris Bikes – this City has succeed politically and physically – but how and why – and how do we continue to do so? |
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The West Coast US fast train programmeProf. Virginia A. Greiman, Boston University 28th May 2014 The Seminar will focus on the challenges faced by the State of California in improving the management and delivery of California’s $68 billion dollar high speed rail project, the first true high-speed rail line in the United States. The presentation will include the unique approach taken to the planning of this megaproject and the outcome of recent hearings before the California legislature including how to best allocate roles between the public and private sector, the financing of this massive project, and the best structures for governance and risk management. The important lessons learned for California from the San Francisco Bay Bridge Project will also be presented as well as the impact they will have on improving the chances for success of this highly controversial megaproject. |