By Phil Brown
The UK Expertise Offer (UKEO) within the Green Cities and Infrastructure Programme (GCIP) represents a new approach to technical assistance, combining world-class UK government expertise with private sector capability to deliver transformative impact for cities around the world. As Head of UKEO – having joined six months ago from a career spanning government, consulting, and most recently CEO of a renewable energy technology charity – I believe this unique model can revolutionise infrastructure development and position the UK as a world leader and partner of choice for infrastructure internationally.
Through GCIP and the UKEO, the UK is pioneering a new approach to technical assistance by combining three powerful elements:
- Eight UK government bodies with proven experience and cutting-edge capabilities.
- The GCIP Alliance, consisting of PwC, Mott MacDonald, Adam Smith International, Engineers Against Poverty and MDY Legal.
- World-leading UK infrastructure toolkits and methodologies.
With this combination of diverse expertise, GCIP is set to drive both UK growth and transformative change in sustainable and inclusive infrastructure development internationally in three ways.
First, it combines UK Agency Delivery Partners’ unique expertise, experience and credibility – having already achieved sustainable and inclusive infrastructure change in the UK and internationally – with world-leading private sector technical assistance capability through the GCIP Alliance, combining technical and development capability and a global presence.
Second, GCIP identifies, showcase and deploy internationally a portfolio of UK-proven and cutting-edge toolkits and methodologies that can help partner countries improve and accelerate planning, decision-making, project design, procurement and implementation, while levelling the playing field for UK companies overseas.
And third, we provide a unique platform for government-to-government agreements. Part of a ‘one-UK’ offer, this brings together the best of UK government and private sector capability to support partner countries, including leveraging the best of the UK’s supply chain.
Delivering results
Though we’re still in our early stages, we’re already seeing impressive results from our initial collaborations. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s Five Case Model training has resonated so strongly with the Ukrainian government that it’s been incorporated into national legislation. In Vietnam, Crossrail International Ltd. and Connected Places Catapult are breaking new ground, working with the Hanoi Metropolitan Rail Board to implement advanced building information modelling.
In the Philippines, Transport for London is bringing its expertise to Manila’s North–South rail line development, while in Egypt Ofgem is helping transform the country’s renewable energy framework. These early wins demonstrate the immense potential of our approach.
Innovation through action
Beyond applying proven tools such as the Five Case Model, we’ve adapted and developed new UK methodologies tailored to today’s challenges. For example, we’ve worked with Oxford Global Projects to apply Reference Class Forecasting – described by Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize-winning author of Thinking Fast and Slow, as “the single most important piece of advice regarding how to increase accuracy in forecasting through improved methods" – to bus rapid transit. And we’ve just completed an innovative toolkit to support project developers integrate gender equality, disability and social inclusion into infrastructure projects. This toolkit will soon be piloted along the development cycle in Mozambique and Indonesia, and it will strengthen a new project preparation facility in Ghana.
Join us in shaping tomorrow's infrastructure
Since September 2023, we’ve successfully implemented two rounds of Targeted Offer work packages across more than 20 countries. The FCDO GCIP team will open its third targeted offer window this February, inviting British Embassy Posts in GCIP priority countries to submit concept notes.
Working with national and subnational government counterparts, Posts can apply for technical assistance support in areas including transport, urban, energy and investment. These projects can be delivered by UK Agency Delivery Partners, the GCIP Alliance, or a combination of the two, and can be enhanced by applying the UKEO’s toolkits and methodologies.
The application window is open from 3 to 21 February. For more information about the UKEO Offer, including UK Agency Delivery Partners, UKEO toolkits and methodologies, and the GCIP Alliance, please refer to our UKEO Handbook.
Phil Brown is the GCIP Portfolio Lead for the UK Expertise Offer and Targeted Offers. The Green Cities and Infrastructure Programme is managed by a PwC-led Alliance, including Mott MacDonald, Adam Smith International, Engineers Against Poverty and MDY Legal.
Published
31/01/25
