Reflections on My Journey with the Levelling Up Fund

A Project and Programme Management Expert's Perspective

This programme - and the funding allocated through the Levelling Up Fund - aimed to address regional disparities and foster equitable growth across the country, the scope of these developments is inspiring. From infrastructure projects set to modernise transportation networks, to public spaces being revitalised to foster community engagement and well-being, these changes are not merely about physical improvements - they represent a commitment to building stronger, more connected communities.

It has been my privilege to support the recipients of Levelling Up funding as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) under the Delivery Associates Network (DAN). Providing expert project and programme management support and fostering collaboration to enhance the capacity of grant recipients to deliver on their commitments, has been both exciting and insightful.

A key takeaway for me is a lesson learned early on – the value of active listening before agreeing an intervention. We found that a major challenge that grant recipients face is having the time and resource to engage fully in a ‘new initiative’. With that in mind, it was critical to use the valuable time that we had, hearing from the key project members and stakeholders, those on the front lines of delivery. Starting with this then allowed for an intervention to be crafted that would best fit the needs of the project.

Key Project & Programme Management (PPM) themes / services

I saw several key themes arise regarding the type of support needed from our PPM SMEs, including:

Being a Critical friend: Our role was often to provide ‘critical friend’ support – supporting grant recipients with encouragement that their projects were heading in the right direction, challenging plans in a safe environment and reassuring that authorities were asking the right questions at the right time.
Construction cost review: We undertook several reviews on contractor cost plans at various points in the projects, mostly because of cost plans being over budget. In one instance, our review successfully identified around £700,000 in cost savings.
Procurement strategy review and NEC contract advice: A regular request was to review procurement strategies as part of overall project reviews. In one instance, our procurement SMEs provided a local authority with the advice and ability to make procurement decisions with a more rounded commercial emphasis, rather than it being driven by the schedule. Another example is when we worked with a city council to de-risk their project by supporting them in identifying the risk of financial impropriety and suggestions to mitigate the risk through market testing for best value.
Schedule review: These were often requested once projects were already facing schedule challenges, risking the individual projects’ viability. Our schedule SMEs provided specialist construction schedule support in preparation for contractor claims for extensions of time, for ex. successfully assisting a city council in refuting commercial claims.
Strategic project review: Strategic project reviews were carried out at various stages of projects, the most successful of which were undertaken early in the lifecycle where strategic thinking can have the most significant impact. A successful example of this was when we provided specific advice to help a local authority link their technical deliverables to risk management and the schedule. The face-to-face reassurance to the council enabled them to have a better awareness of the risks to construction so that when the design team presented their detailed proposals, they were in a better position to review and critique themselves.
Knowledge Hub: The SMEs contributed to this cornerstone of the DAN, a platform for sharing best practices and lessons learned. The PPM bench wrote seven blog posts, three long-form articles, delivered three webinars and conducted 4 masterclasses on a wide range of topics including ‘managing project risk’, ‘preparing for operational readiness’ and ‘mitigating impacts on local businesses during construction’. The topics were chosen based on emerging common themes and challenges that we were supporting grant recipients with.

Impact of the DAN

Taking a step back, I saw firsthand the impact of the DAN – of having an SME support network for grant recipients as they tackle the roll-out of this mammoth £4.8bn Levelling Up programme and £2.4bn Towns Fund.

As an external entity, the SMEs brought a fresh perspective to the challenges faced by grant recipients. This fresh viewpoint helped identify delivery blockers and suggest innovative solutions that may not have been considered internally as well as identifying risks. By bridging gaps between project teams and departments, the DAN helped to promote more cohesive and effective working practices.
The support provided by the Delivery Associates and the SMEs went beyond immediate project needs. By working closely with the grant recipients, the network helped build long-term capability within these organisations. This capability building ensures that grant recipients are better equipped to manage future projects independently, leading to sustained improvements in service delivery and community outcomes.

Thank you

Speaking on behalf of my fellow SMEs, I’d like to extend a thank you to all of the local authorities who engaged with us and brought us into your communities over the last few years. We’ve seen firsthand the challenges you’re up against in delivering the remarkable impact of the Levelling Up fund and feel proud to have played a small role in that. We look forward to having a front-row seat to your continued success and community growth.

Navaz is a Chartered Project Manager at Arup with extensive advisory and project delivery experience at both project and major programme level. Navaz is skilled at planning and managing projects and programmes for client organisations.

If you have any questions on this topic, or would like support, please contact your Delivery Associate, or email DeliveryAssociatesNetwork@Arup.com