Planning is everything

It’s encouraging to see the ODA’s determination to start the 2012 project from solid foundations. True, this meant scrapping the original contract for the all-important programme manager role in January. It also meant a delay of eight months while the selection process for the new ‘Olympic delivery partner’ role took place.

But the ODA’s David Higgins made a convincing case for taking more time to get things right now to avoid pain later. Even some of those that went for the original role, such as Capita Symonds, told QS News the ODA had done the right thing, albeit through gritted teeth.

Spare a thought, though, for the unsuccessful bidders, some of whom pitched both times, including Capita Symonds and Franklin+Andrews. We understand the average bidder forked out a cool £1m per tender. The news raises the old question of whether bid costs should be refunded.

Congratulations though, to winning consortium CLM, in which Davis Langdon is proudly representing our profession. We hear the selection process was rigorous in the extreme so CLM has no doubt convinced the ODA that it is a programme manager par excellence. It’s an interesting time for programme management, as the 2012 project looks set to finally put the discipline on the map in the UK.

When it starts work on Monday, CLM will have to get to grips with the ODA’s preferred procurement method, the NEC contract. The document must be handled with care, several writers in this edition warn. They include industry grandee James Nisbet, who argues the latest version of the NEC lacks clarity.

Lets hope that the ODA has thought through its choice of contract as wisely as it has the selection of its delivery partner.