Major Projects Association

Professor Stephen Wearne joined Manchester University in the early 1960s and became part of a group of researchers, people such as Peter Thompson, Martin Barnes, Peter Morris, John Perry and others, who framed how we see the management of complex projects today.

In this interview with Professor Graham Winch, to celebrate 40 years of the Major Projects Association, Stephen, recalls how it all started and reflects on his work and the work of this extraordinary group.

There are hundreds of different ways of looking at innovation in major projects but for the purpose of our most recent Bookclub session, we limited these to just six. 

Dale Sinclair, Head of Digital Innovation at WSP, provided our bookclubbers with his take on seven books looking at the theme of innovation (the original six plus a bonus book). These were: 

• The Nature of Technology by W. Brian Arthur

Our podcast recording captures Dale's commentary on the six books but excludes the conversations that took place during the event, as the bookclubbers discussed the ideas raised by each author.

The result is an engaging and personal perspective on the nature of innovation, construction and infrastructure, and major projects.

The scale of changes needed for climate repair and to meet Net Zero targets mean they cannot be delivered through incremental change alone or at their current pace. We need to transform fundamental aspects of industry and society and therefore we need major projects to deliver - and quickly. But how do we deliver these major projects without adding to the carbon challenge or biodiversity loss?

This is the second part of a two part podcast recorded on location in Glasgow during the CoP26 Conference in Autumn 2021. In the episode, Claire Gott of WSP issues the panelists with a challenge to share the ONE thing they propose as a call to action for their stakeholders and the Government; the one thing that would enable major projects to drive Net Zero, rather than contributing to the problem.

The scale of changes needed for climate repair and to meet Net Zero targets mean they cannot be delivered through incremental change alone or at their current pace. We need to transform fundamental aspects of industry and society and therefore we need major projects to deliver - and quickly. But how do we deliver these major projects without adding to the carbon challenge or biodiversity loss?

This is the first part of a two part podcast recorded on location in Glasgow during the CoP26 Conference in Autumn 2021.

The contributors share their views of how to make major projects part of the solution, rather than part of the problem of the climate emergency, in discussions built around recent research from Major Projects Association member, Copper Consultancy, on public attitudes to sustainability.

Our first podcast of 2022 picks up the theme of an upcoming Major Projects Association event and looks at the next generation of skills we'll need for delivery in 2030 and beyond, and the generation of project Rising Stars who will be charged with the task.

Thank you to Alfie Chimedza, Nichols Group; Jamie Gray, RAF; Joel Evans, Moorhouse; Paul Morris, Palace of Westminster R&R Programme; Tolu Oladudu, Deloitte; Frederick Levy, Turner & Townsend; Elaine Falconer, Jacobs; Nick Yandle, IPA; Neil Bell, Cavendish Nuclear; Payam Malek, Wood plc; Sarah Kanwar, Accenture; and Carl Wardle, Bedroq who respond to three questions:

1. What's the most significant way in which how you work will be different in 2030 from today?
   

In the third of our series of Race Matters podcasts, Major Projects Association Director, Andy Murray is joined by Gary Young, Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, author, broadcaster and, previously, Editor at Large for the Guardian. Gary and Andy grew up at the same time, in the same town, the big difference in their subsequent life experience is that Gary is black and Andy is white. During the conversation, they discuss their relative experiences, and tackle issues such as white privilege.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is a strategic issue for the Major Projects Association and the Race Matters series enables us to explore one aspect of the sociology of work and major projects.

Andy Murray, Executive Director of the Major Projects Association, is on location at the Projects Data Hackathon in October 2021. He records his impression of the two-day live event and explores what a data hackathon sounds like and what it means in terms of the productivity, value and success of major projects. Along the way, he chats to the founder of the Project Data Hackathon, Martin Paver, along with a number of those who have set challenges, as well as the hackers themselves.

The second of two podcasts recorded for the Major Projects Association on the subject of 'race matters'.

The first of two podcasts recorded for the Major Projects Association on the subject of race matters.

Ed Merrow, Founder and President of Independent Project Analysis, is your engaging guide in this 20 minute tour of the value and pitfalls of mega project benchmarking. Expertly interviewed by Andrew Crudgington, Ed opens with the distinction between benchmarking capability & benchmarking performance, before explaining what a different approach to benchmarking offers for mega-projects