Backdrop: From Pandemic to Permacrisis
UK infrastructure and construction showed unexpected adaptability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges of national lockdowns and new social distancing rules to adapt to, the sector responded better than many initially anticipated. Not only did the sector survive, in many instances it thrived. Supply chain collaboration increased, new standards and ways of working were introduced, and a host of technological innovations emerged to overcome new constraints.
Hopes were high that the sector could usher in a new dawn. Instead, a barrage of political and macroeconomic events made progress harder than ever.
The war in Ukraine highlighted that the delivery of our national infrastructure is a truly global effort. It exposed the fragility of supply chains and their sensitivity to issues beyond our borders. It showed the devastating impact of soaring energy costs on capital budgets, many of which were fixed in a low-inflation environment.
Domestic politics were equally unhelpful. Three prime ministers in as many months left the sector guessing as to which regulations, investment decisions and tax rules would stick. The market turmoil following the mini-budget piled on further pressure, diluting the buying power of project budgets.
Our last survey identified three priorities for the sector: to digitise, decarbonise and standardise. Two years on, our leaders remain united around these, and the current geopolitical and macroeconomic context makes the need for progress more important than ever.
Five Key Themes
Decisions, Decisions
Collaborate to Innovate
All Minds at the Table
Risk is Good
Mind the (Digital) Gap
Introduction
