In the UK recently there has been considerable consternation about the proposed high speed rail link to connect London with cities in the Midlands and north of the country. As is so often the case with such projects, the budget has ballooned, and numerous stakeholders have proposed scrapping the entire thing, lest it become a proverbial white elephant.
One could almost be forgiven for thinking the project is just following the script of so many megaprojects before it. Coming in behind schedule and over budget seems to be the norm for these vast ventures that seem as much about the ego of the architect as the eventual end user.
New research from University College London explores what it is about these megaprojects that leads them to fail so frequently, and what can be done to rectify matters.
After a comprehensive literature review, the researchers identified six key themes to highlight areas where a project might fail. There is typically no one factor on its own that contributes to poor performance but rather a combination of risk and uncertainty; stakeholder engagement; strategy, governance and procurement; leadership and capable teams’ coordination and supply chain integration.
“Considering the importance of megaprojects to the global economy, we aimed to deepen and extend our understanding of the causes and cures of poor megaproject performance,” the researchers say. “We have emphasised the solutions rather than problems, in an attempt to shape the academic conversation to a more positive discourse and connect with the needs of senior managers delivering megaprojects.”
Fault lines
Megaprojects are typically hugely complex, and often cost more than $1 billion. Their scale, complexity and impact on the environment and communities render them extremely challenging to complete.
The researchers examined over 6,000 papers, with 86 of them analyzed in depth to try and find themes running across megaprojects that underpin their success or failure. They propose pursuing five future avenues to help megaprojects achieve a higher success rate: building and leading collaborations; bridging the gap with manufacturing; decomposing and integrating the supply chain; designing the system architecture; and engaging institutions and communities.
“The success of megaprojects is vital to economies across the world. But all too frequently, they fail to satisfy their objectives in material respects—sometimes with very serious social and economic consequence,” the researchers say. “It is therefore of urgent importance to understand why megaprojects underperform and what needs to be done to prevent them doing so. This systematic literature review points the way to answering these crucial questions and proposes a clear research agenda to inform future megaproject success. It is an impressive piece of work.”
