Inside the Teal Book: the UK government’s blueprint for better project delivery

The UK government’s infrastructure ambitions have never been clearer.

With the launch of the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy in June, the country now has a £725 billion long-term roadmap.

And the infrastructure pipeline in July provided much-needed transparency over the forward plan for infrastructure.

But strategy alone doesn’t deliver outcomes. That’s where the Teal Book comes in.

What is the Teal Book?

Published by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), the Teal Book is the UK government’s definitive guide to project delivery.

It’s not just another manual. It’s a resource designed to transform how the public sector plans, manages, and delivers projects.

Drawing on lessons from HS2, Crossrail, and COVID-19, it highlights the need for a coherent, end-to-end framework.

Bridging the ‘what’ and the ‘how’

For years, disjointed planning, inconsistent standards, and a lack of long-term vision have hindered infrastructure delivery in the UK.

The Government Functional Standard for Project Delivery (GovS 002) sets out expectations and principles: the “what” of project delivery. But until now, there was no detailed or unified view of the “how”.

The Teal Book aims to fill that gap. It provides a common language and shared framework for over 26,000 civil servants delivering projects across government.

It aligns with existing standards like the Green Book (appraisal), Orange Book (risk), and Magenta Book (evaluation), but focuses squarely on delivery.

Building capability and confidence

The Teal Book aims to support delivery at all levels, from projects and programmes to whole portfolios.

It’s modular, adaptable, and tailorable to different contexts – from central departments to arm’s-length bodies. It’s a helpful project reference for the private sector, too.

Key features include:

• Portfolio management guidance: helping departments align projects with strategic goals.
• Programme and project governance: clarifying roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes.
• Planning and control techniques: promoting rigorous planning, risk management, and performance tracking.
• Solution delivery frameworks: supporting agile, iterative, and user-centred approaches.

Crucially, the Teal Book emphasises continuing professional development (CPD). It encourages investment in skills, coaching, and knowledge sharing – recognising that capability is the foundation of successful delivery.

But there are still gaps. In future guidance, the government would do well to include:

• more real-world case studies demonstrating the Teal Book’s advice in practice;
• more coverage of local government; and
• more detail about how to apply the book on a sector-by-sector basis.

Learning lessons from past projects

A core principle of the Teal Book is learning from experience: capturing lessons learned from past projects to improve practices and benefit current and future work.

This is particularly relevant given the scale of the government’s infrastructure ambitions.

The infrastructure pipeline includes over 780 projects across energy, water, digital, health, education, and defence. Delivering them will require not just funding, but a skilled and confident workforce.

Enabling the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy

The Teal Book’s launch is timely.

The 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy marks a shift from short-term announcements to long-term planning. It prioritises outcomes over outputs, and stability over volatility. It aims to fix some of the delivery challenges that have held back growth for decades.

But the strategy’s success depends on delivery. And delivery depends on capability. That’s where the Teal Book plays a pivotal role.

By embedding best practice, fostering consistency, and supporting professionalisation, the Teal Book helps ensure that the infrastructure strategy is not just aspirational – but achievable.

What are the next steps?

The ICE’s report, Why do major projects cost so much and take so long? lays out the challenge. The guidance is there – the government just isn’t using it consistently.

The launch of the Teal Book recognises that there are challenges ahead: skills shortages, supply chain fragility, and the need for planning reform.

The ICE paper looks at the ways the government might change political and delivery structures, as well as its use of data, to improve delivery.

But should it do more to address unhelpful political interference, which can undermine long-term success for short-term headlines? Is this the elephant in the room?

The Teal Book provides a foundation for improving outcomes and restoring confidence in government infrastructure delivery.

But applying it properly – and improving project performance across the country – means wider change.

*The ICE welcomes guests to share their views about infrastructure policy issues on the Infrastructure Blog. These views are the views of the individual.

If you're interested in writing for the Infrastructure Blog, please email [email protected]. The ICE reserves the right not to publish articles that have been submitted.