Presidential Roundtable summary: the Construction Playbook, two years on

Date: 19 December 2022

This roundtable, chaired by ICE President Keith Howells, was a discussion with the Cabinet Office and infrastructure sector leaders on the Construction Playbook two years after it was first published.

The session looked at the positives of using the playbook and the need to keep reinforcing and developing it as the principles are embedded.

The Construction Playbook was originally published by the Cabinet Office in late 2020. It sets out principles and policies to reform the way public works, projects and programmes are assessed, procured and managed.

This is a tall order and the playbook therefore covers a range of areas, from procurement, preparation and planning to project selection and delivery.

An update to the playbook earlier this year maintained the core policies, but revised and included detailed guidance notes as to how they should be practically implemented.

This discussion looked at the progress made since the document's publication two years ago, asked whether it feels like the playbook is living up to its ambitions, and looked at what needs further refinement.