Transformation Project of the Year Award
The winner for this category has now been announced. Congratulations to all our finalists in this category.
Sponsored by QinetiQ
Recognising and rewarding organisational and cultural change projects across all sectors that deliver significant benefit through project delivery excellence.
Our highly sought-after Project of the Year categories are designed to recognise project excellence, both in delivery and outcomes. There are four Project of the Year Award categories, representing different types of projects. The winners of each of these awards are entered into the prestigious overall project of the year category, of which there is one winner.
The Transformation Project of the Year Award is given to the team whose project demonstrates the most effective use of project management and the greatest benefits and outcomes to end users in projects providing transformational change, either culturally or organisationally.
We require entrants to all project of the year categories to produce a submission of 1,500-2,500 words (in English) based on the judging criteria for that category. Entrants may also submit up to four pieces of supporting evidence - images or graphics only (no text apart from captions). Evidence must support information already included in the submission and must not introduce additional elements. Please see further details on the ‘Supporting evidence’ tab of the Awards platform. Video and audio is not accepted as part of the submission.
The Transformation of the Year category is a two-stage judging category, the first stage being the written submission mentioned above and the second stage requires all finalists to present virtually to a panel of judges. Projects from all sectors, and from across the globe, may apply.
The South Wales Valleys is one of the most socially economically deprived areas within the UK and EU. As a result, it was identified that significant investment was required in the railway to unlock the economic potential whilst also raising living standards.
This entailed a £1.5 billion investment and once in a generation to deliver electrification amounting to 170km of track, installation of brand-new signalling across the network, controlled from a new purpose build Integrated Control Centre in Taff’s Well, the introduction of £800 million worth of brand-new trains, upgrades to stations, and the construction of two new railway stations.
Judges comments
The Core Valley Lines Transformation Programme is a £1.5 billion initiative aimed at revitalizing Cardiff’s economy and addressing socio-economic disparities in the South Wales Valleys. It involves electrifying 170km of track, upgrading signalling systems, introducing new trains, and enhancing stations, alongside building two new railway stations. The programme has had to overcome political negotiations, stakeholder management, and environmental impacts - as well as introduce innovative sustainable modular buildings. All our judges agreed this was a great submission, enhanced by exceptional levels of personal commitment.
Images are for illustration purposes only.
Judges Special Mention | Escuelas Bicentenario (Bicentennial Schools) - Koulu (Mace Group & Gleeds JV)
Escuelas Bicentenario (Bicentennial Schools) is a US$1.6 billion, 75-school infrastructure programme set up to reduce the country’s infrastructure gap and trial a new, more efficient way of delivering infrastructure.
The programme operates under a Government-to-Government Agreement (G2G) between Peru and the UK, which was recently extended until 2026 and enables the continued technical assistance of Koulu, a British-Finnish consortium led by Mace and Gleeds.
Through knowledge transfer in programme management, PEIP-Escuelas Bicentenario has evolved into a top performing public entity. With 4 completed projects and 41 under construction, it is well placed to deliver world-class educational infrastructure for Peruvian students.
Judges comments
Commended for developing a control mechanism that sought to remove injustices in a complex area and formed a blue print for innovation.
Judges Special Mention | Roadrunner - MIGSO-PCUBED for Fortescue Zero
Roadrunner, the world’s first and biggest Battery Electric Haul Truck (BET) coupled with the world’s biggest battery charger, will support Fortescue (the global metals mining company) with its carbon neutrality commitments.
Fortescue Zero were supported with project management delivery partner services by MIGSO-PCUBED on this UK/Australia transformation project.
Judges comments
Commended for the pace of the project, with its strong evidence of collaborations, partnerships and fast-developing supply chain, supplier networks, and relationships.
Finalist | Network Rail Occupational Health Insourcing - Network Rail
In late 2020 Network Rail took the decision to in-source it’s Occupational Health provision. The scale of the project, covering the diverse OH requirements of circa 44,000 employees, cannot be understated.
Building the infrastructure, recruiting, and on-boarding a complete OH team, providing the IT and telephone systems and operational and governance processes has called for an altogether different approach to project management and stakeholder engagement.
Finalist | SPEED - Network Rail
Responding to the Government’s Project SPEED challenge to ‘half the time and slash the cost’ of infrastructure project delivery, the rail industry came together to identify what drove cost, time and constraints.
Deploying agile methodology and sprint delivery, innovative SPEED principles and toolsets developed enhanced skillsets and empowered mindsets to enable cultural change, encouraging teams to be bold, challenge and think differently to create efficiencies.
SPEED has transformed how the industry works together to overcome barriers and significantly reduce the cost and time of enhancement project delivery, realising £1.5 billion of cost savings and multiple years in schedule efficiency.
Finalist | TfGM Bus Franchising Programme - Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)
Over the last decade, Greater Manchester’s population growth outpaced all UK metropolitan areas outside London, necessitating enhanced transport services.
TfGM are developing the Bee Network, an integrated, affordable transport system, by franchising bus services under local control starting September 2023.
The Bus Franchising Programme, the first in the UK since deregulation, targets service fragmentation and declining passenger numbers, covering 720 services and 186.7 million annual riders.
With two of the three phases complete the final phase is due to complete in January 2025. TfGM manages new tickets, electric buses, and infrastructure ensuring smooth operations, enhancing service reliability and customer satisfaction.