Accelerating infrastructure delivery through collaborative design and build
Delivering the water infrastructure needed to support housing growth, climate resilience, environmental requirements, and economic development requires new ways of working at pace.
At the same time, projects are becoming more complex, with evolving technical and consenting requirements, inflationary pressures, constrained delivery capacity and heightened stakeholder expectations. In this environment, there is an increasing need for collaborative design and build (D&B) delivery models that are outcome focused, pragmatic, and commercially robust.
Early contractor involvement
Traditional delivery models, where design is largely completed before contractors are engaged, can work well for lower-complexity builds using local and regional partners. D&B models, supported by early contractor involvement (ECI), bring the right expertise together earlier in the process, with the designer, contractor, and supply chain collaborating from the point at which key decisions can be shaped. This enables earlier decision making, reduced rework, improved certainty and accelerated concept to delivery. This approach has been transformative across key sectors including water, wastewater, energy and transport.
One example of this in practice is C2V, Jacobs’ long-standing joint venture (JV) with VolkerStevin. C2V is a D&B partnership established in 2015 to enable the development and renewal of water services in Northwest England. C2V combines consulting, engineering, design-build, operations and programme management capabilities within a single integrated team. Jacobs contributes engineering, digital, asset and programme management expertise, while VolkerStevin brings construction, commissioning and site delivery competencies. Together they have supported United Utilities for more than a decade, delivering water and wastewater infrastructure providing optimisation across the asset lifecycle, rather than focusing primarily on either design or construction.
Enterprise collaborative models
On larger, more complex programmes, where collaboration, innovation, programme certainty and risk management are critical, D&B enterprise models provide an enhanced approach to traditional D&B delivery. They bring the client, designer, contractor and often key supply chain partners together as an integrated enterprise, rather than separate organisations operating through transactional contracts. This enables earlier multidisciplinary collaboration, shared design governance and integrated design-build planning, improved programme certainty and better-informed decision-making. By aligning objectives, governance and incentives across the enterprise, this approach also typically reduces the potential for disputes and claims compared with more transactional contracting models.
United Utilities has adopted this enterprise approach for its AMP8 (Asset Management Period 8) programme, recognising that improving delivery across an entire portfolio requires more than optimising individual projects. The United Utilities’ AMP8 Construction Delivery Partners (CDP) Framework and investment programme is designed to achieve fast deployment, cost efficiency and sustainable delivery. Through an enterprise delivery model, it has gained access to a broader pool of capabilities, enabling rapid mobilisation and scalability while giving parters earlier visibility of project scope and requirements. This allows partners to influence design and construction outcomes from the outset.
The model is built around shared programme outcomes, with success measured against collective objectives for safety, delivery and cost performance rather than individual company performance. Guided by a joint governance board, it incorporates shared incentives, pain-gain mechanisms and performance metrics that encourage collaboration and programme-wide success.
C2V was appointed as a CDP within the UU Enterprise model for AMP8 in 2024 and is delivering project management, design, build and commissioning solutions for complex capital projects across water and wastewater treatment, pumping stations, reservoirs, bioresources and energy. The appointment demonstrates how an Enterprise D&B model can successfully integrate client, consultant and contractor capability. A unique feature of the United Utilities CDP Framework is that, while Jacobs participates through C2V, it also serves as a strategic solutions partner in its own right, giving United Utilities access to two complementary delivery propositions.
Innovation and digital
Across the broader sector, digital tools are transforming infrastructure delivery, but technology alone is not enough. Their value is realised when they are embedded within collaborative delivery models where teams share information, align decisions and work towards common outcomes. Common data environments, building information modelling (BIM), digital twins, data analytics and real-time progress reporting provide project teams with a single source of truth. By working from shared models and data, designers, contractors and clients can identify issues earlier, test delivery scenarios, improve sequencing and evaluate whole-life performance before construction begins. Digital delivery also enables greater standardisation, off-site manufacturing, improved carbon assessment and a more effective handover into operations.
A design and build contract will not achieve its full potential if organisations continue to work in silos, just as digital tools will not drive transformation unless they are embedded within governance, decision-making and day-to-day behaviours. Bringing together people, process, and technology with aligned incentives, integrated teams, transparent information and clear accountability creates the conditions for more efficient, predictable and sustainable programme delivery.
Conclusions
As Ireland accelerates investment in water infrastructure, delivering projects faster without compromising quality, affordability or sustainability becomes increasingly important. Pragmatic collaborative models bring market knowledge into projects earlier, increase certainty before committing to construction, and create environments where innovation can be applied safely and efficiently.
As the infrastructure sector responds to increasing demand, cost pressures and resource constraints, success will depend on how effectively clients and delivery partners work together to manage risk, solve problems and maintain delivery momentum. Collaborative models underpinned by ECI, digital delivery and integrated governance, provide a practical means of accelerating delivery while addressing the capabilities and skills needed at scale.
By challenging traditional approaches to procurement and project delivery, organisations can achieve faster delivery, better value, lower risk and more resilient, sustainable infrastructure fit for future generations.
For more information:
E: barbara.fogarty@jacobs.com
W: www.jacobs.com
