Project data is a national asset, MPs tell government

The APPG for Project Delivery was established in February this year. The new report, Building A Better Future, is the result of its first inquiry, which called on industry and professionals to highlight the action needed to improve infrastructure delivery. The likes of Aecom, the Association for Project Management, Mace, the Major Projects Association, Pinsent Masons and WSP submitted written or oral evidence to the inquiry.

In the report, the APPG notes: “Much of the [vast amount of data generated by national infrastructure projects] is often discarded or underused, which hinders our ability to capture essential lessons and ultimately improve delivery outcomes. For example, evidence outlined how Crossrail generated vast amounts of data which contained insight into delivery friction, forecasting errors and early signals of delay. However, this data is now largely inaccessible, meaning we are missing out on information which could support improvements in predictive analytics, contracting strategies and delivery governance.

“As one evidence submission wrote, ‘by discarding data, we discard insight. Every new project starts from scratch, leading to avoidable mistakes being repeated. This is inefficient, wasteful and fundamentally unavoidable’.”

For data to be preserved and reused for the public good, the APPG said: “There needs to be a cultural shift in how we view data, moving from data as a compliance burden or a reporting exercise to a strategic asset which enables smarter infrastructure delivery. It also requires a more open and collaborative approach to project data, one which rejects the urge to lock data away and instead allows it to be turned into insights which can be captured for the benefit of future projects. Evidence pointed towards the need for mandatory data strategies which outline the data needed, how it aligns with data standards, and how it will be organised, managed, governed and shared.”

APPG for Project Delivery chair Henry Tufnell said: “We must learn from every success and failure because the data and lessons from these projects are national assets.”