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Looking back at the last five months since the Industrial Strategy was launched, our infrastructure team hosted a dinner to explore how increasing digitalisation is driving resilience and security across the sector.
Partner Craig Hoggett reflects on how infrastructure can adapt, lead and thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape whilst also focusing on capital delivery, asset management, and capability development.
At our latest infrastructure dinner, we had Polymath Futurist Matthew Griffin deliver a thought-provoking key-note speech which left me thinking about the role of infrastructure in shaping the nation’s future.
At its core, Matthew’s message was simple but profound:
“Infrastructure isn’t just about roads, bridges, and railways. It is the backbone of economic growth, innovation, and global competitiveness. “
Matthew Griffin
The conversation that followed revealed a clear truth: the UK has the talent and ambition to lead, but unlocking our full potential requires tackling deep-rooted challenges, investing in collective capabilities, and responding strategically to global shifts.
Matthew highlighted some strategic approaches and tools to help accelerate potential:
- Collaborative contracting models to cut timelines and legal disputes
- Governance hubs that streamline decision-making
- Integrated supply networks to enhance productivity and reduce costs
- Digital platforms and AI integration to accelerate workforce efficiency and execution.
Digitalisation is already transforming the sector, but scaling its impact requires shared standards, common data environments, and sustained investment across government, industry and the supply chain.
If the UK wants to deliver world-class infrastructure, capability must be built collectively, not in silos.
Geopolitical Context: Global Forces Defining the UK’s Infrastructure Needs
Infrastructure serves as the backbone of economic growth, innovation and global competitiveness. Matthew delved into the UK’s current untapped potential and the striking contrasts between Europe’s current challenges compared to what he sees as other countries aggressive advancement through transformational mega-projects.
Challenges: Confronting obstacles across the asset lifecycle
The UK clearly has the talent and ambition to lead, but unlocking our full potential requires tackling deep-rooted challenges, investing in collective capabilities, and responding strategically to global shifts.
Matthew highlighted the UK’s key challenges include:
- Public debt and fragmented priorities slowing strategic investment.
- Layered governance and too many decision-makers, which add friction and delay.
- Disconnected systems and supply chains, making collaboration difficult and inefficient.
These issues aren’t theoretical; they have measurable impacts. Evidence shows that removing unnecessary decision layers, integrating supply networks and unifying systems can accelerate delivery by 30% and reduce costs by 20%. Yet resistance to change continues to undermine progress.
“To realise our industrial strategy, we must confront these obstacles head-on, embracing modernised delivery models, streamlined governance, and digital tools that strengthen resilience and security across the asset lifecycle. “
Craig Hoggett, Partner Newton
Capabilities: Building the Expertise and Collaboration Needed to Deliver
One strategic solution Matthew proposed was collaborative contracting models which helps reduce risk and insurance and has been proven to reduce legal disputes by 50%. This collaborative approach is also a lot more efficient and has been proven to lower delivery times by 20%.
The resistance to collaborative working is often based on systems not working well together. However, setting up integrated supply networks which are designed to enhance productivity and reduce costs improves efficiency and productivity. But what happens if you remove 70% of the decision layers? Using integrated supply networks improves productivity, with an increase of 5% delivery times, 30% faster for 20% less money. Creating governance hubs and unified systems enables streamline decision-making and helps eliminate inefficiencies.
Looking Ahead: Infrastructure as the Foundation of National Success
For me, the evening reinforced a simple truth: infrastructure drives national success, but only when approached strategically, collaboratively, and with an eye toward innovation. We have the talent, the ambition, and the opportunity. What we need now is the collective will to transform potential into reality.
Matthew’s insights reminded us that infrastructure is not just about construction; it is about building the future. And if the UK wants to compete on the global stage, we must start building smartly, decisively, and together.