Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
sometimes even remains unstated beyond the most basic description.
Conventionally, clients describe value in three relatively simple terms.
These are cost, time and quality. However, that is no longer adequate
or suffi cient, as objectives extend beyond the built asset especially in
the public sector, where there is often a need to take into account envi-
ronmental factors, health and safety and the social impacts that may
occur.
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) was the public body put in
place and made responsible for developing and building the new venues
and infrastructure necessary for hosting the London 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games. A delivery partner, CLM, was appointed via a public
procurement competitive dialogue process to work with the ODA to
programme-manage the delivery of the construction of the venues and
infrastructure for the Games.
The ODA was established by the London Olympic Games and Paral-
ympic Games Act (2006). The Act was passed to ensure that the neces-
sary planning and preparation for the Games could take place. It allowed
the ODA to:
• buy, sell and hold land;
• make arrangements for building works and develop transport and
other infrastructure;
• develop a transport plan for the Games, with which other agencies
had to cooperate, and make orders regulating traffi c on the Olympic
Road Network and Paralympic Route Network; and
• be the local planning authority for the Olympic Park area.
As a public body, the ODA was accountable to government, the Greater
London Authority (GLA) and other stakeholders for its work.
As the client, the ODA decided it needed to mobilise resources from
the private sector by fi rst procuring a delivery partner (DP). The need
for expediency and the requirement for a large number of experienced
professionals to be mobilised quickly meant that, by buying a private-
sector DP, the ODA could bring to bear the necessary resources to
organise the procurement quickly. The DP approach also had other
advantages in that it meant the ODA could deploy its resources fl exibly,
according to the programme's requirement at any given time. It also
meant that the ODA could remain a 'thin' client, with comparatively
low numbers of directly employed staff, who controlled and directed the
experienced construction professionals working in the DP.
