Let’s start with this: while the focus here is on capital programme delivery, the principles are widely applicable. I encourage you to apply these ideas wherever they make sense in your organisation.

Councils across Aotearoa have committed to investing more than $91B in assets over the next decade. That means capability in capital programme delivery is no longer a nice-to-have - it’s critical.

Imagine tools, processes, and governance structures that adapt to your organisation's evolving needs, a growing capital programme, and policy changes - without ongoing consultant dependence, costly software, or overwhelming change management. Aotearoa's growing infrastructure pipeline is forcing government agencies to rethink how to deliver projects successfully. The status quo won’t cut it – not the overcomplicated, rigid, disconnected frameworks that duplicate or recreate existing workflows.

Implementing a programme delivery framework is not just about compliance – it’s about enabling and future-proofing your organisation’s capability. For many councils, this need comes at a time of escalating demand, tight resources, and high public scrutiny. The pressure to deliver has never been greater but neither has the risk of being underprepared and underequipped.

Every year, millions are lost to capital Programme inefficiencies, however it rarely shows up on a balance sheet.

What gets measured? Project cost, delivery timelines, maybe benefits.
What doesn’t? Rework, poor onboarding, lost institutional knowledge, and the creeping cost of consultant dependency.

Local governments and government agencies are under immense pressure to deliver more with fewer resources - resulting in all too familiar ballooning costs, delayed schedules and unrealised outcomes. But beneath the surface of budget overruns, stalled projects, and external scrutiny lies a deeper issue: the Integration Gap.