This guidance note is intended for RICS members practising in the infrastructure sector, either providing services to an infrastructure client or working within an infrastructure client organisation.
How is a client ‘informed’?
An informed client recognises and adopts best practice in its delivery activities. A client is ‘informed’ when:
- it understands its capability and capacity and also where it is lacking in relation to the task it faces
- it is effective in gaining and using knowledge to make informed decisions
- it is efficient at organising itself for the task; and
- it designs and retains a sufficient degree of flexibility to be able to adapt to the demands of the project.
What do we consider ‘infrastructure’?
For the purposes of this guidance note, the scope of infrastructure follows the description in the IUK Routemap of transport, flood protection, energy, communications, and water and waste management.
Who is the ‘client’?
This guidance summarises how a client becomes ‘informed’ when preparing to deliver a project. For the purposes of this guidance note, the client is ‘the body responsible for delivering the project including suppliers accountable within the governance structure’. This definition includes directly employed staff, but may also include temporary staff on short-term contracts, agency staff, designers, programme partners, delivery partners and suppliers. The nature of what comprises the client is discussed in more detail in ection 4 – Organisational design and development.
Projects, programmes and portfolios of projects
For simplicity, the term ‘project’ has been used throughout this guidance note to represent the range of potential scenarios including projects, programmes and portfolios of projects.
Published date: 23 September 2015