EY-Intelligent-Client-strategic-sponsorship

Today’s client
challenge
“The Intelligent Client shows clear leadership
by owning the vision and business case, and
champions the programme with stakeholders,
taking a long-term perspective, representing
end-user and operator interests. It understands
what good looks like, what things should cost
and the impact of decisions on benefits, to obtain
value for money and hold deliverers to account.
It is self‐aware of strengths and capabilities,
nurtures and develops talent to adapt to the
environment, and establishes a sustainable client
capability. It supports delivery organisations
to also operate as Intelligent Clients, by providing
clear direction and timely decisions.”
Source: Work with UK Department for Transport, High Speed Rail Group, 2015.
Why Intelligent Clienting?
In recent years the term ‘Intelligent Client’ has emerged
as a definition of good practice in clienting on large complex
programmes. A number of publications have been made
on the subject, building on lessons learned in both the public
and private sectors:
►►
HM Treasury, Infrastructure UK (IUK) & the Infrastructure
Client Group — Improving Infrastructure Delivery:
Project Initiation Routemap (version 1.1 October 2014)
►►
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
— The Informed Infrastructure Client (1st edition,
September 2015)
►►
National Audit Office (NAO) — Initiating Successful Projects
(1 December 2011)
These publications focus extensively on ‘what’ needs to be done
through defining desired capabilities in order to ensure more
successful outcomes. Recognising that there is no one size fits
all solution, the IUK and RICS publications provide further useful
guidance on assessing the complexity of the programme in order
to understand what these capabilities should be to ensure they are
fit for purpose.
EY endorses these publications and recognises that further work
is needed to address ‘how’ to achieve the desired capabilities
required to be an Intelligent Client. This is a significant business
change challenge, and needs careful consideration of both how
the programme will operate in an optimum manner and how
to successfully effect change in this context.
EY has combined our extensive experience in complex capital and
transformation programmes to inform a more successful journey
through the programme lifecycle for clients.
We recognise that all complex projects and programmes face
significant challenges as they evolve, yet the most successful
are often characterised by the conditions for success having been
properly established up front. This applies equally to capital as well
as business transformation programmes. Moreover, in order to
pass through formal governance and review points, programmes
need to demonstrate they have met key requirements in line with
IUK and HM Treasury guidelines at two levels:
1
Clients must demonstrate
their capability as promoter or
sponsor for the programme,
which often requires
management of multiple
complex stakeholder interests.
2
Deliverers must demonstrate
they have met their obligations
under their own contractual
agreements. Moreover, it
should be noted that in large
programmes, the delivery
organisation is also a significant
client in its own right.
EY’s recent work at the Department for Transport produced
the definitions shown at the top of these pages for the roles
of Intelligent Client and sponsor, building on but not limited by,
the requirements of the IUK Routemap for large and complex
programmes. The approach outlined in this document also focuses
on establishing the essential conditions and capabilities to be an
Intelligent Client.
3 Intelligent Client Refining the sponsorship model for complex programme delivery