Lifecycle driven planning of infrastructure: public and private experiences with more integrated approaches for managing project complexity

Currently, many initiatives are under implementation in the Netherlands to integrate the stages of policymaking, plan development, construction, and operations and maintenance in the lifecycle of the infrastructure planning process by more explicitly involving business organizations. However, genera...

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Main Authors: Sander Lenferink, Taede Tillema, Jos Arts
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: TU Delft OPEN Publishing 2014-04-01
Series:European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
Online Access:https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/ejtir/article/view/3019
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author Sander Lenferink
Taede Tillema
Jos Arts
author_facet Sander Lenferink
Taede Tillema
Jos Arts
author_sort Sander Lenferink
collection DOAJ
description Currently, many initiatives are under implementation in the Netherlands to integrate the stages of policymaking, plan development, construction, and operations and maintenance in the lifecycle of the infrastructure planning process by more explicitly involving business organizations. However, generally speaking, these integration initiatives stand alone and only connect a maximum of two stages at a time. In this article we explore whether and how contemporary lifecycle integration initiatives could be combined into a more integrated approach to be better able to address infrastructure planning complexities. We provide a framework for dealing with project complexity that distinguishes internal complexity, defined as the interrelatedness between project components, and external complexity, defined as the interaction of the project with its context. After assessing public and private experiences in combining single integration initiatives in complex settings by means of two focus group discussions, we conclude that current initiatives that connect stages in the planning process are suitable for addressing internal complexity. However, external complexity proves to be more difficult to adequately tackle when combining these lifecycle integration initiatives. We therefore recommend applying a more dynamic process management approach that stimulates continuous public-private interaction throughout the stages of the planning lifecycle. This could be facilitated by introducing alliances and cross-functional public-private teams.
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spelling doaj.art-5d69b4978b294fe888d09287b74676dd2023-12-02T03:58:25ZengTU Delft OPEN PublishingEuropean Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research1567-71412014-04-0114210.18757/ejtir.2014.14.2.30192635Lifecycle driven planning of infrastructure: public and private experiences with more integrated approaches for managing project complexitySander Lenferink0Taede Tillema1Jos Arts2Radboud University Nijmegen-University of GroningenCurrently, many initiatives are under implementation in the Netherlands to integrate the stages of policymaking, plan development, construction, and operations and maintenance in the lifecycle of the infrastructure planning process by more explicitly involving business organizations. However, generally speaking, these integration initiatives stand alone and only connect a maximum of two stages at a time. In this article we explore whether and how contemporary lifecycle integration initiatives could be combined into a more integrated approach to be better able to address infrastructure planning complexities. We provide a framework for dealing with project complexity that distinguishes internal complexity, defined as the interrelatedness between project components, and external complexity, defined as the interaction of the project with its context. After assessing public and private experiences in combining single integration initiatives in complex settings by means of two focus group discussions, we conclude that current initiatives that connect stages in the planning process are suitable for addressing internal complexity. However, external complexity proves to be more difficult to adequately tackle when combining these lifecycle integration initiatives. We therefore recommend applying a more dynamic process management approach that stimulates continuous public-private interaction throughout the stages of the planning lifecycle. This could be facilitated by introducing alliances and cross-functional public-private teams.https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/ejtir/article/view/3019
spellingShingle Sander Lenferink
Taede Tillema
Jos Arts
Lifecycle driven planning of infrastructure: public and private experiences with more integrated approaches for managing project complexity
European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
title Lifecycle driven planning of infrastructure: public and private experiences with more integrated approaches for managing project complexity
title_full Lifecycle driven planning of infrastructure: public and private experiences with more integrated approaches for managing project complexity
title_fullStr Lifecycle driven planning of infrastructure: public and private experiences with more integrated approaches for managing project complexity
title_full_unstemmed Lifecycle driven planning of infrastructure: public and private experiences with more integrated approaches for managing project complexity
title_short Lifecycle driven planning of infrastructure: public and private experiences with more integrated approaches for managing project complexity
title_sort lifecycle driven planning of infrastructure public and private experiences with more integrated approaches for managing project complexity
url https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/ejtir/article/view/3019
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AT josarts lifecycledrivenplanningofinfrastructurepublicandprivateexperienceswithmoreintegratedapproachesformanagingprojectcomplexity