Assessing National Highways’ benefits management maturity
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Overview
National Highways (NH), in partnership with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), engaged Costain and Akerlof to conduct a thorough review of their benefits management maturity; the way in which NH measures and ensures that its infrastructure projects deliver value. The goal was to ensure greater value for money and improved social and environmental outcomes across its portfolio.
What we did
The Costain-Akerlof team guided NH through a structured process to assess how effectively value was being realised and identifying areas for improvement. Aligning the project goals and expectations with all parties ensured a shared understanding, and we selected a broad mix of projects to reflect NH’s full portfolio.
We initially conducted an extensive literature review of industry best practices and standards, which enabled us to identify four core areas where NH could improve its benefits management processes, across both standard and large-scale projects.
We then engaged directly with the NH team, leading 14 interviews with key stakeholders, reviewing internal documents, and conducting surveys to gather feedback. These insights helped to shape a comprehensive picture of NH’s current practices.
The impact
- A detailed report summarising findings, a maturity assessment, and 10 actionable recommendations to enhance benefits identification, management, and realisation
- A tailored maturity assessment framework with clear criteria for evaluation
- Visualisation of maturity levels using radar charts, with qualitative insights offering context and depth for each assessed area
- A collaborative workshop securing client buy-in and shaping a practical action plan to translate recommendations into tangible improvements across NH’s portfolio
- Findings and recommendations formally reviewed and accepted by NH and ORR
