Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Accepted
Restart centrally collecting and analysing lessons learned from all FCDO estate capital projects.
Conclusion
Some FCDO high-profile estate projects have run significantly over time and budget. FCDO carries out large scale estate capital projects to refurbish or replace its buildings, but some recent projects, such as in Washington D.C. and Ottawa, have run significantly over time and budget. This has been due to issues such as industrial action, unexpected problems in buildings requiring remediation and the impact of COVID-19. FCDO conducts lessons learned activities for all its projects but has stopped recording them centrally as its portfolio management office prioritised other work. FCDO plans to deliver around 120 capital projects in future and has confirmed that central collation of lessons learned activity will restart soon. FCDO is also taking other actions to improve its project management, including introducing a design authority with the responsibility for checking project designs and implementing gateway reviews to improve external scrutiny of projects as they are developed. recommendation FCDO should immediately restart centrally collecting and analysing lessons learned from its estate capital projects, to ensure it has appropriate oversight of project risks and can manage delivery effectively. FCDO should update the Committee in its Treasury Minute response on its progress, including the impact of its new design authority and gateway review processes.
Government Response Summary
The FCDO is re-establishing a comprehensive, centrally collated lessons-learned process for capital projects, with findings to be shared across teams. Its new Design Authority will embed these lessons into project designs, and strengthened gateway reviews will scrutinize cost, procurement, and design at key RIBA stages.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. applying lessons learned across its capital programme to strengthen organisational oversight, improve risk management, and ensure that investment decisions benefit from the work of previous projects. The FCDO is re-establishing a comprehensive lessons-learned process across all capital projects, that will draw on the contributions of posts, project teams, internal and external suppliers and the FCDO’s internal assurance functions. Coupled with a renewed focus on Project Evaluation Reviews in the aftermath of project completion, the process will allow the FCDO to identify recurring risks, highlight good practice, and identify the root causes of issues such as cost escalation, schedule slippage, and scope change. Findings will now be shared across delivery teams to develop a consistent, structured approach across all stages of the project lifecycle. The Department’s Design Authority and strengthened gateway review processes form a key part of this approach. The Design Authority provides technical and professional leadership and is a key part in ensuring that lessons from previous projects are embedded into design specifications, standards, and early-stage approvals. Gateway reviews conducted at completion of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stages 2, 3 and 4, now include reviews of cost, procurement and contract strategies, alongside design outputs, ensuring better challenge, assurance, and alignment with the FCDO’s strategic objectives. This is expected to contribute to more consistent and predictable delivery outcomes across project delivery.