Fund launched to improve infrastructure procurement

A £3M fund has been launched by the Construction Industry Training Board to improve infrastructure procurement.

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) launched the fund after saying that infrastructure procurement often becomes stuck in cycles of dysfunction. Research from the Institute of Civil Engineers found that problems often arise due to low investment, poor relationships, low margins, and poor training standards.

These problems can lead to projects which are delivered behind schedule and run over budget. Recent high-profile infrastructure projects like Crossrail have come under fire for such problems and the collapse of Carillion was seen as an example of poor infrastructure investment.

Steve Radley, CITB director of strategy and policy said: “While other sectors have seen increases in productivity in recent decades, construction has lagged behind with weak approaches to procurement playing a key role.”

“We want to explore new and more collaborative ways of working that can improve supply chain relationships within procured projects, meaning more housing and infrastructure delivered on time and on budget to the benefit of clients and the construction industry alike.”

The fund will go towards pilot schemes developing new ideas to improve the procurement process. The schemes will cover housing and council-led procurement and construction.

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