Client: Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority, 2017-2018

Inner Circle was appointed in April 2018 to set up the Strategic Transport Programme for the combined authority, to develop and approve a comprehensive £5billion portfolio of business cases while also designing the structures, processes and mechanisms needed to implement them – to an ambitious target of doubling regional gross value added by 2040.

We provided additional strategic and programme management expertise, giving the combined authority the capability to accelerate the delivery of its many complex and challenging work streams, while establishing effective programme-wide management controls. This required close collaborative working with central government, regional authorities, clinical commissioning groups, businesses and educational institutions.

The combined authority needed to redefine how to deliver large-scale infrastructure interventions, employing its new Mayoral powers to secure legitimacy and progressively foster support. As a strategic organisation, this required it to be lean but capable of delivering a programme with a potential net development value running into billions.

In addition to delivering the specific schemes, our director assumed the role of Interim Transport Director, allowing us to implement programme management controls and help the client to take effective control of its transport portfolio.

Our Impact

• Working with a diverse range of strategic partners and securing political buy-in to a hugely ambitious transport programme.
• Advancing a programme of over 30 transport schemes at various stages of delivery and ranging widely in scale, while demonstrating excellence in ensuring progress was made at speed and within budget.
• Assisting a maturing organisation in the development of the requisite programme controls to progress its transport objectives, supporting the client to manage independently and well in the future.