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OECD - IOC Toolkit

Better policies for better lives

Programme management

London Crossrail: delegation of procurement authority for an efficient approval process

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Crossrail Limited (CRL) was established as a special purpose vehicle for the delivery of the Crossrail Programme and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London. In order to deliver efficient and proper decisions over procurement the CRL developed the Scheme of Delegations to record the personnel or committees to whom authority to make procurement decisions has been delegated by the CRL Board, including the financial limits in each case.

No contract or agreement was permitted to be entered into unless budget was both available and released. Financial approvals were based on best estimates of contract outturn costs including appropriate risk allowances. This ensured that unintended costs were not incurred.

Additionally, responsibly for the dissemination and application of this policy lay with senior management of CRL and with those to whom the CRL Board or Chief Executive delegated authority for the application of policies. CRL Heads of Department thus could ensure that everyone involved in the procurement cycle was aware of the policy and that there was clear definition of responsibility for specifying contract requirements and for managing expenditure within budget.

The Head of Procurement was responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Scheme of Delegations to ensure that authority was delegated and exercised appropriately in accordance with the needs of CRL and the project. The Head of Procurement also proposed any necessary revisions to the Scheme of Delegations. They were also charged with implementing an integrated policy that engaged with various stakeholder to support the CRL’s overall objectives.

Source: Crossrail Limited

Implementing the new event delivery model for Milano Cortina 2026

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Milano Cortina 2026 aims host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in a fiscally responsible, socially sustainable, and environmentally friendly manner.

A key goal of the OCOG is to maximize the use of local expertise and capabilities by involving Event Delivery Entities (EDEs). EDEs are organisations with existing experience and expertise contracted to deliver venues and sport operations for selected disciplines. Partnering with EDEs that have previously organised world-class events will allow the OCOG to leverage their specific knowledge. EDEs will be selected based primarily on their previous experience in organising specific Games events. For example, the OCOG will partner with an existing South Tyrol-based company which successfully organised the 2019 Biathlon World Cup to deliver biathlon at the Games. 

Each Games venue or zone will be planned and delivered differently depending on the most efficient solution for the specific context. The events will be delivered by the OCOG, EDEs or a combination of both. Where an EDE is not in place (e.g. in Milan), the OGOC will manage event delivery in-house, while still leveraging the expertise of venue owners and operators through extended venue use agreements. This event-centric organisation model will rely on a local management structure with an Event Director who has responsibility for the venue and event.

The strategy is underpinned by the following considerations:

  • Establish an event-driven planning process to enhance the effectiveness of venue design and development, particularly with respect to sustainability, legacy, operational excellence, and cost-efficiency.
  • Accelerate knowledge-sharing procedures to shorten the preparation time and Games delivery, thus reducing the overall resource requirement and the size of the workforce. 
  • Reduce the cost and complexity of each venue and event where possible.
  • Explore the most efficient way to deliver each sport/discipline, outsourcing the delivery to selected EDEs to leverage their expertise where appropriate. 
  • Increase the knowledge and capabilities of EDE staff regarding best practices in sustainable event management, that can be applied to future events organised by the EDEs after the Games.

Source: Information provided by Milano-Cortina Foundation

Paris 2024 is leveraging external expertise to deliver a more efficient Games

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Paris 2024 is pioneering the use of the new event delivery model for the 2024 Games.

From infrastructure to services, the model aims to leverage existing experience as much as possible in the delivery of the Games. This model has two objectives: excellence in delivery, capitalising on existing expertise while limiting the OCOG’s operational costs and creating sustainable opportunities for the sports and events sector.

The OCOG is overseeing delivery while engaging external providers for support, helping the Games benefit from a greater range of innovation and efficiency. An event platform was established where interested stakeholders could view opportunities and needs related to the Games organisation. This provides transparency for bidders and a way for Paris 2024 to assess the most optimal delivery option.

Three venues, Yves du Manoir in Colombes for field hockey, Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, and the Paris La Défense Arena for swimming races, were chosen to pilot the delivery model with external stakeholders and providers. Through these pilots, the OCOG decided on two approaches to delivery: a delivery model based on the involvement of several delivery entities overseen by Paris 2024, and a delivery model handled in-house by Paris 2024 for complex events where there is limited expertise available on the market.

Source: Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games

Coordinating temporary overlays at Tokyo 2020

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Temporary overlays for Tokyo 2020 included not only simple structures such as tents, prefabricated buildings, and seats, but also buildings with heavy steel frames, light towers, and extensive utility work.

Temporary overlays were constructed in all 85 venues, including existing, new and temporary competition venues, across ten prefectures. A large number of parties were involved in the construction of the overlays, including different areas of the OCOG, the IOC, sports associations, venue owners and administrators, and local municipal entities.

To manage this challenging set of projects and help manage costs, the OCOG put in place a number of strategies:

  • Use of design-build contracts (including demolition, removal, and restoration) to reduce the number of involved parties and associated change orders. However, separate procurements were conducted where the scale and characteristics were particularly challenging for the market, for example temporary seating.
  • Where possible, overlays for multiple venues were procured together as a cluster to facilitate construction schedule control and achieve economies of scale.
  • The OCOG set standard specifications for elements that would be commonly procured, such as tents and security fences.
  • The implementation of coordination mechanisms such as an Overlay Book, which compiled the plans for all venues and was updated every six months, and a Venue Integration Group, which managed the progress of planning and construction and maintained a consolidated construction schedule.

Source: Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralymic Games

Centralising risk for the construction of Heathrow T5

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In the early 2000s, the construction of Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 (T5) was the largest construction project in Europe.

The British Airports Authority (BAA), a major airport operator that was privatised in 1986, realised that if the projects were to be built on time and within budget, a unique approach would be required. 

The foundation of the BAA’s project management strategy was the T5 Agreement, a relational contract between the BAA and all the T5 first-tier suppliers. The Agreement was structured differently from traditional construction contracts. It aimed to create incentives for positive problem-solving behaviours in order to minimise the conflicts that had previously plagued major projects. 

The BAA took a different and unique approach to risk in the T5 project: it held all the risk. As such, incentives were required to encourage all other partners involved in the project to minimise risk. This was achieved through financial incentives for suppliers, rewarding successful performance. 

GBP 100 million was taken from individual projects and put into a central pot. This allowed the risk contingency to be allocated based on need. This  allowed for greater control over the financial implications of risk at a more global level and thus tighter overall budget control.

Source: UK National Audit Office

Joint management for dual purpose: the 2015 Pan Am Games Athletes’ Village

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The Athletes’ Village for the Pan American and ParaPan American Games in Toronto had two objectives.

First, it was to provide temporary residences for the athletes, staff and coaches  involved in the Pan Am Games. Second, it was to serve the needs of future residents with a mixture of affordable housing and community spaces. As the facilities would have mixed purpose and multiple stake holders, the design, construction and management of the Athletes’ Village were overseen by different partners at different times. The joint management of the facilities, between Infrastructure Ontario (a provincial government agency) and Toronto 2015 (the organising committee for the Games), allowed it to both serve the needs of the international sporting event and residents. 

In the construction phase, the project used a design-build-finance delivery mode. Infrastructure Ontario, the owner, worked with several private partners to deliver the facilities. For the purposes of the Pan Am Games, temporary infrastructure was designed and constructed under the supervision of Toronto 2015. 

During the period of the Pan Am Games (the ‘Operational Period’) private partners remained involved. They were responsible for building management and maintenance, along with maintenance of the roads and grounds within the site.  Following the end of the Operational Period, the facilities were turned over to Infrastructure Ontario, which repurposed the Village to serve the long-term residential population. This included the creation of a community centre and sports facility, a student housing complex and 253 affordable rental units. The decision to use the site for the Village expedited the area’s redevelopment by five to 10 years.  

Source: Global Infrastructure Hub, Office of the Auditor General of Ontario

Project and programme management

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The United Kingdom’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) supports the successful delivery of infrastructure and large-scale projects.

Rapid mobilisation playbook

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The New Zealand rapid mobilisation playbook is designed to help construction or infrastructure projects get started faster. It includes tools such as checklists and templates to support tasks including risk allocation and project team and governance selection.

OECD Infrastructure Toolkit: Procurement Strategies

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Procurement is an essential part of the infrastructure life-cycle, it is thus important that it is done in an efficient and transparent manner to ensure infrastructure objectives are achieved.

The OECD Infrastructure Toolkit is an online resource to guide the planning, financing and delivery of infrastructure.