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Managing major projects

Major public projects in the Government's current major projects portfolio are expected to cost over £450bn. There are also many other projects across government. This huge investment of taxpayers' money needs to be spent well. Managing these projects also brings major challenges because they are so long, complex, technically difficult, and are often part of high profile and high-risk transformation of public services.

These projects can also compete with each other for resources, equipment and skills. This means government needs to make sure that the timing of different projects is coordinated - especially as competition for resources can increase costs. One project can depend on the outcomes of another, making coordination and management still harder.

To make sure that these projects are affordable and successful, government needs much stronger project management skills and it needs to make more accurate cost and time estimates. It also needs to improve its ability to identify and manage both risks and the impact of external events.

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Managing PFI assets and services as contracts end

This report provides information on managing PFI contracts when they end and considers whether government is preparing for expiry appropriately.

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Published:
5 Jun 2020
NAO clock tower

Survival guide to challenging costs in major projects

This publication outlines some of the challenges in estimating and managing costs that we have observed in our work on major projects. It offers Accounting Officers and senior decision makers some ground rules and thoughts on factors to consider when challenging costs.

Performance Improvement area(s):

Published:
21 Jun 2018