A peer reviewed Technical paper for the flagship journal of the Institution of Civil Engineers that introduced the value network approach to the profession has the following summary:-
"Civil engineers have a systems approach to model the behaviour of designed facilities and an appreciation of the complexity of natural environment. Yet many clients and implementation teams are constrained by management principles derived by 19th century industrialists which hinder the release of co-creativity required to deliver complicated infrastructures. This paper outlines and appraises the value network approach as a way for the industry to overcome these restrictions. It presents other case studies from other industries that show how the ingenuity to conceive, create and manage novel organizations can lead to a step change in project and programme performance."
An earlier summary was as follows:
"Civil engineers have a systems approach to model the behaviour of designed facilities and an appreciation of the complexity of natural environment. Yet many clients and implementation teams are constrained by management principles derived by 19th century industrialists. These hinder the necessary release of co-creative potential required to deliver complicated infrastructures. This paper outlines and appraises the value network approach as a way to overcome these restrictions. It presents other industries’ case studies showing how the ingenuity to conceive, create and manage novel organizations can be harnessed in practice by adopting a new mindset. It concludes that, through using value networks, the construction industry can co-evolve solutions to cultural and practical obstacles by putting people at the centre of purposeful activity with a new way of perceiving how work is really done. With the construction industry sector results in 2011 continuing to fall significantly, doing more of much the same is not a sustainable option. It is time to experiment."
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View and download the Paper here