Emma Norris, Institute for Government presents 'Making the Games: what we can learn from London 2012', at the Eduserv Symposium 2013: In with the new.

1. Making the Games
What can we learn from London 2012?
Emma Norris, Institute for Government

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Introduction
“It was a surprise, wasn’t it? There we were, little old us, the country that made such a
Horlicks of the Millennium Dome celebrations in 2000, putting on a flawless
performance of the most logistically difficult thing you can ask a country to do in
peacetime. …I want you to remember that feeling of surprise because that surprise is
revealing of our chronic tendency in this country to underestimate what we can do. We
now need to learn the lessons of the Olympics and the Paralympics.”
(Boris Johnson)

3. London was the underdog
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4. The UK track record on major projects was mixed
4

5. The scale and complexity was huge
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11 ‘Olympic hospitals’ on standby to provide free medical care for the ‘Olympic Family’
52 every police force in the country provided security for the Games
200 extra buses provided in London for the Games
4,000 extra Games-time train services provided over the Olympics and Paralympics
15,000 police officers deployed on the Olympic operation on peak days
18,200 troops required to provide security for the Olympics at peak times

6. There were serious challenges along the way
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• May 2010
• September 2008
• July 2005
• May 2008

7. But the Games has been judged a success
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“It has lifted the cloud of limitations.”
– Emily, Games Maker
Guardian/ICM: more than 75% of people say the Games were ‘well worth the cost’
YouGov: 83% of the public thought the Games were a success

8. How did they do it?
1. New ways of working
2. New modes of engagement
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New ways of working

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Our analysis: the building blocks for success
1. Politics
Challenge: changes of administration present danger for major projects
Analysis: politics was dealt with head on - using its advantages and minimising the
risks of administration change through transparency. But there were still challenges -
for instance on reshuffles, and unusual advantages – for instance the guarantees.
Leadership
GuaranteesCooperation

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Our analysis: the building blocks for success
2. People and skills
Challenge: capability gaps and changes in personnel are regular problems for major
projects in government
Analysis:
• world-class recruitment and leadership
• creating and embracing mixed teams who were skilled at commercial and
policy/political work
• stability in personnel – politicians, civil servants and private sector staff stayed the
course
“The most important thing was never physical things; the most important thing was
always people” - David Higgins, ex-Olympic Delivery Authority Chief Executive

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Our analysis: the building blocks for success
3. Institutional design and governance
Challenge: delivery bodies built from scratch; complex role of government as
guarantor but not the only client; the hardest of deadlines
Analysis:
• institutions had clear roles and responsibilities, and the right powers
“The correct answer to ‘Who’s in charge of the Olympic Games?’ is ‘Nobody’” –
Jeremy Beeton, former Government Olympic Executive Director-General

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Our analysis: the building blocks for success
4. Programme management and delivery
Challenge: the delivery environment was complex and government track record on
commissioning and procurement mixed
Analysis:
• focus on getting the scope right and high bar to change in ODA and LOCOG
• investment in project management
• the use of NEC3 contracting

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But one warning:
Challenge: the scale of the Games meant the project was fraught with risk
Analysis:
• G4S failure – failure to adapt to new working environment; Games was no
‘business-as-usual’

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New modes of engagement

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Our analysis: the building blocks for success
1. Budget
Challenge: budget overruns are very common on Olympics and on government major
projects
Analysis:
• transparency – quarterly reporting that drove efficient behaviour and kept press
and public informed

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Our analysis: the building blocks for success
2. Vision
Challenge: there were a huge range of interests in the Games and the possibility of
conflict loomed large
Analysis: the bid company developed a vision that tied everyone together – whilst
allowing flexibility to meet subsidiary objectives including the benefits for London,
the country and sports participation
A great
Games for
everyone
Regenerate
East London
Regional
benefits
Tourism
££ for small
businesses

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New skills sets

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Once developed, make the most of new skills
• Civil servants developed new expertise in major project management and
delivery
• Commercial skills and ‘intelligent client’ role developed in partnership with
private sector recruits
• Are these skills being redeployed?

20. Overarching lessons from London 2012
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1. Project trumps silo
“There was only one brand – London 2012” – David Higgins
2. Bring together the right people in effective teams
“That’s the most important thing – the team” – Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner
Chris Allison
3. Personnel stability and personal relationships matter
“It’s really about the ability of the people in those organisations to be open and honest and
to have relationships that work, and they did in large part.” – Seb Coe
4. Political cooperation creates space for project success
“The big thing on political transition was transparency. There were no surprises when the
new government came in or when Boris took over from Ken” – Jonathan Stephens
5. Change and time discipline are crucial
“Many projects start with a scope that’s not buttoned down, a lack of clarity over the
programme and therefore a budget that isn’t defined” – Dennis Hone

21. Lessons for government
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6. Budget transparency brings benefits
“Transparency forced everyone to cut costs” – David Goldstone
7. Arm’s length bodies and the public sector can deliver
[London 2012] “brought out the public services and the civil service at their very best” –
Jonathan Stephens
8. Beware false economies
“That front end costs money. Whether its private sector or public sector clients, they don’t like
spending money at the front end.” – John Armitt
9. Be bold and ambitious
“Blair and Jowell were right about the Olympics and all the officials who advised them not to
do it were wrong.” - former DCMS official

22. Download the report from: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications