The effective use of delivery partners to enhance client capability in megaprojects

A capable client is crucial in managing the complexities of megaprojects, requiring a wide range of organizational capabilities. However, client organizations are often temporary and rely on delivery partners to build capability. This research explores how delivery partners can enhance client capability, using the case of High Speed Two (HS2), the UK’s largest infrastructure megaproject. We leverage a rich dataset of 26 interviews with executive and senior leaders from both client and delivery partner organizations. The findings demonstrate that while delivery partners bring valuable organizational capability, unlocking the full value depends on how intelligent clients act to create strategic alignment, establish appropriate boundaries and create incentives. We present the Delivery Partner Onion (DPO) framework to guide the development of a tailored strategy to define the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of delivery partners. We recommend a multidimensional approach to determining the optimal organizational design and delivery partner approach for each megaproject.