Major Projects Association

In this episode of the Major Projects Association podcast, Executive Director Andy Murray is joined by Alice Poole, Associate Partner at PA Consulting, and Janet Greenwood, Global Lead for Sustainable Infrastructure at KPMG, to explore how sustainability can be meaningfully embedded across the lifecycle of major projects. Building on insights from our recent event on collaborating with supply chai...

In this episode of the Major Projects Association podcast, Executive Director Andy Murray is joined by Mark Hansford, editorial consultant and former Editor of New Civil Engineer, for a special conversation ahead of our upcoming seminar on productivity . The discussion sets the scene for that event by exploring one of the sector’s most persistent challenges and a new initiative designed to address...

In this episode of the Major Projects Association podcast, Executive Director Andy Murray is joined by Lisa Kelvey, Global Head of Infrastructure at KPMG, and Joe Manning, Partner in KPMG’s Major Projects practice, to unpack the rapid rise of the delivery partner and what it means for the future of major project execution. Building on insights from our recent, oversubscribed Manchester seminar, th...

In this special edition of the Major Projects Association podcast, we’re turning our attention to an issue that sits at the core of every major project yet is too often overlooked beyond the site gates: the risk management of our construction logistics operations on public roads. As today’s guest, Kate Cairns, starkly reminds us, “We’re killing four times as many people off site every year as we a...

In this episode of the Major Projects Association podcast, host Nicky Wright, Partner at Gardiner & Theobald, is joined by Kate Gough and Rob Colvin of Freshfields to unpack the Procurement Act 2023, the most significant reform of the UK’s public procurement regime in a generation. Together, they explore the motivations behind the new Act, including the desire to simplify a complex EU-derived...

In this episode of the Major Projects Association podcast, Executive Director Andy Murray is joined by Mark Sutton, Elections Programme Manager at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to explore one of the most overlooked stages of the project lifecycle: closure. Building on insights from the Association’s recent seminar ‘Enhancing value through project closure’, Andy and Mar...

In this episode of the Major Projects Association podcast, Executive Director Andy Murray is joined by David Whitmore, Director at MIGSO-PCUBED, to explore the critical role of business-to-business relationships in the delivery of complex major projects. Drawing on the new research paper ‘Managing strategic relationships in inter-organisational projects', a collaboration between MIGSO-PCUBED and U...

In this special edition of the Major Projects Association podcast, we're diving deep into the intersection of sustainability, planning, and major infrastructure projects. Our guest host for this episode is Janet Greenwood, Global Lead for Sustainable Infrastructure at KPMG and Chair of the Major Projects Association Sustainability Ambassador Network. Janet is joined by two leading experts from the...

This episode delves into the critical role that business-to-business relationships play in the success of major projects. Drawing on insights from our seminar Do we have the Capability we need for the new types of Major Projects in the pipeline? and MIGSO-PCUBED's recent research, conducted in partnership with UCL, on the importance of business-to-business relationships, we explore whether we poss...

In this episode, we are delighted to have Lawrence Rowland join us again, one year on from the first What can ChatGPT do for major projects?  episode.  Lawrence, a project data/AI specialist, talks to Andy Murray, Executive Director of the Major Projects Association, to revisit their discussion from a year ago and explore the advancements in AI technology, particularly focusing on OpenAI’s latest...

This podcast explores the commonly-held perception that transport infrastructure projects are consistently over budget and underperforming and the guests discuss the findings from a recent study that reveals that this is in fact a misperception: 93% of major road schemes have a positive benefits-cost ratio and are delivered within budget. In today's podcast we ask: who knew and what changed? Andy...

Andy Murray, Executive Director of the Major Projects Association talks to Huda As'ad, Managing Director - Capital Projects & Infrastructure for UK, Ireland, and Africa at Accenture and Dale Foong, COO and Co-Founder of Movar. Huda and Dale spoke at our 'Pace of Change in AI' seminar in June and we have invited them back to share their insights from the seminar and our upcoming Annual Conferen...

“AI is out there already. This is not some kind of super-duper future thing that we’re waiting for. It’s with us.” So said Mark Enzer, Strategic Advisor at Mott MacDonald, at our 'Pace of Change in AI, Data and Analytics' seminar in June. In this podcast, our guests Mark Enzer and Dale Sinclair, Head of Innovation at WSP, chat to Andy Murray, Executive Director of the Major Projects Association, t...

With Inclusion Moments now integrated into all Major Projects Association events and with many members actively involved in our Inclusion Hub, we are delighted to shine a light on the topic of neurodiversity and inclusion in this podcast. Our guest host Al Simmonite, Managing Director of the Advance Consultancy and member of the MPA Inclusion Hub, is in conversation with Helen Buckingham of WSP, C...

MPA Executive Director, Andy Murray, talks to project data/AI specialist Lawrence Rowland on the latest updates to ChatGPT and how major projects can use Generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Co-Pilot and Google Bard. Lawrence describes himself as someone who sits in the intersection of exploring project management practices and the application of disruptive technology. Since the la...

In this episode, Andy Murray, Executive Director of Major Projects Association, chats to Andy Taylor about the session he runs for the professional development programme Challenge of Major Projects. Andy Taylor is Managing Director of People Deliver Projects and he explains what the full-day experiential session called The Junction is all about and what participants will gain. The Challenge of Maj...

Emerging markets for major projects can take many forms, including new geographies, new economic models, and new technologies. In this podcast, drawing on the ideas from the recent Association Seminar, Emerging Markets - Opportunities and Threats for Major Projects , Andy Murray is in conversation with Stephen Beatty of KPMG, Dr. Zeynep Kurban of GHD, and Sam Mercer of Xlinks. Through the lens of...

                  In this wide-ranging podcast episode ahead of the Association seminar of the same name, Andy Murray from the Major Projects Association is in conversation with Carol Deveney of the consultancy See Change International.  Together, they discuss: the lack of practical guidance for aspiring new sponsors diversity and different personalities and approaches the transition from project...

Tony Slater is Managing Director of SMP Alliance, the collaborative organisation set up by National Highways, Jacobs, WSP, BMJV, Balfour Beatty, Costain and Fluor, to deliver the smart motorways programme. In conversation with Al Simmonite from Advance Consultancy, Tony tells the story of the Alliance and the challenge of creating an integrated, single entity; one that included National Highways a...

In this podcast episode on the topic of change and delivery at pace, Andy Murray interviews project delivery experts from the pharmaceutical industry: Denise Moody of the Pharmaceutical Industry Project Management Group, Fraser MacFarlane from GSK, and Danie Du Plessis of Kyowa Kirin International. During their conversation, we learn: the imperative and the challenge of focus and prioritization ho...

Gareth Parkes, Head of Data and Analytics at Sir Robert MacAlpine, interviews Ed Burns, CCO at Mafic, Luis Lattuf and Yixue Shen, both researchers at WMG, to help us understand where project data analytics is going and what are the practical applications, obstacles and opportunities presented by the fast moving technology. During their conversation, we learn about Mafic's real world application of...

Join Andy Murray, Executive Director of the Major Projects Association; Jenni MacKenzie, Commonwealth Games Senior Programme Manager; Mark Russell, Chief Executive of The Children's Society , Dr Simon Addyman, Associate Professor at UCL; and Deirdre Fox, Non-Executive Director at Advance Consultancy as they explore collaboration and leadership in major projects. During their wide-ranging discussio...

Professor David Clutterbuck recently celebrated his 75th birthday (and published his 75th book). In this wide-ranging Masterclass he shares his good humoured and razor sharp insights from nearly 50 years of coaching and mentoring. a range of models such as  The Diversity Awareness Ladder , the five different levels of interaction we have with other people; how, as a coach or a mentor, you can help...

In the second part of our Annual Conference podcast, Andy Murray interviews Nick Smallwood, CEO of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, on how to change the way people think about delivery to make what you do 'nothing less than world class'. In a wide-ranging interview, they discuss topics such as benchmarking, project and programme leadership, risk versus reward, and what project organisati...

Every major project encourages an unwavering focus on successful delivery. Whilst this has the advantage of generating continual forward momentum and progress, it carries with it a real risk: the creation of an echo chamber. In an echo chamber we remain fixed in our own limited bubble, unhearing or sceptical of any voices from 'outside our group' who may be advocating a different approach, questio...