MPLA: developing leaders at the heart of government

Not many project portfolios involve lifetime costs of over £400 billion. The UK Government’s Major Project Portfolio consists of almost 200 ventures ranging from substantial infrastructure developments like Crossrail, building hospitals and schools, and connecting the UK through broadband. Delivering such projects efficiently and effectively is crucial, with millions of pounds of taxpayers money at stake.

The Major Projects Authority in the Cabinet Office commissioned a partnership between Oxford Saïd Business School and Deloitte to design and deliver a Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA) to improve the leadership, commercial and technical capabilities of project leaders. Two hundred project leaders are already taking part in the programme, with one participant noting “If the MPLA only makes a small difference to the outcome on this £15bn+ acquisition programme with impacts and further costs reaching 50 years into the future then the leverage is huge.” The MPLA has won the 2014 Silver award in Professional Development at the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Excellence in Practice Awards.

“The academy will significantly improve the quality of Major Project leadership at the heart of Whitehall, reducing over-reliance on external consultants, elevating the status of the profession and developing a cadre of world-class major project leadership supported by a peer group of exceptional quality and experience.”

Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office

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