A pilot Infrastructure Hub has been established in the North West to deepen local engagement in the delivery of the Government’s Infrastructure Cost Review and wider procurement objectives.
The North West Infrastructure Hub has been established to drive job creation and growth in the region, supporting the building of sustainable supply chains and opening opportunities for local firms. Building on central government initiatives of publishing the National infrastructure Plan and the construction and infrastructure pipelines, the new regional hub for the north-west will:
- Support the adoption of Infrastructure Cost Review principles in the procurement, governance, specification and delivery of projects in the region,
- Develop a focused north west pipeline, drawing in projects and programmes from infrastructure clients in the region,
- Create a centre of excellence in the region for sharing of best practice, benchmarking and collaborative procurement and behaviours
Geoffrey Spence, Chief Executive of Infrastructure UK said:
“We welcome this initiative from the North West Infrastructure Group to establish a pilot Infrastructure Hub in the region. This will be a valuable focal point for driving collaborative behaviours in procurement and delivery and play a key role in supporting jobs and growth in the North-West”
Professor Peter McDermott of the North West Infrastructure Group said:
“The North-West Infrastructure Group has had strong buy-in from our local stakeholders to date, but with this endorsement from IUK comes their support to our activities. This will allow us to deepen and broaden our activities, as well as the promotion of consistency and knowledge transfer within this area and beyond this pilot into other geographical areas”.
Since its formation at the start of 2011, the North West Infrastructure group has already begun to deliver benefits to the individual corporations and its stakeholders through establishing a platform for local clients and businesses to collaborate to improve delivery and opportunities for the North West. Following the publication of the National Infrastructure Plan 2011, the group concluded that there is now an opportunity to deliver a step-change in performance and benefits to the north-west region and localities through setting up a North West Infrastructure Hub.
In particular, the visibility of a forward pipeline across the area is a vital tool in the drive to realise the above benefits. In addition to improving industry visibility prioritising the aggregation and publication of the north-west area based infrastructure pipeline would act as a catalyst for further collaboration, and help reinforce that which has already been achieved and support the step change in the delivery of outcomes in the North West, including:
analysis and development of skills and capabilities to deliver the pipeline projects
- improved supply chain integration with SME participation and local content
- job market stimulation and growth in the region
- collaborative procurement and delivery models
- greater sharing of best practice and benchmarking
To deliver this step change, the new North West Infrastructure Hub has now:
- Gained proactive support from central government, particularly Infrastructure UK, to work as part of the Steering Group in the North West.
- Secured commitment from local clients and supply chains to help create the detailed NW pipeline data and analysis tools by the end of 2012.