RC121 NovDec 2025 - Magazine - Page 35
Project success is now
a national imperative
PILLAR 6: DELIVERY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
No project can proceed successfully
without the appropriate approvals and
social licence. Does the project meet
current regulatory requirements and
uphold Rightsholders’ legislated rights?
As project owners pursue regulatory
and environmental permitting, they must
take a strategic approach to protect
not only the environment, but the
projects cost and schedule. Proactive
early communication and participation
of Indigenous communities are table
stakes. For more and more projects,
involving Indigenous communities
in the ownership structure helps
formalize a long-term commitment
and shared benefits. Co-development
and equity participation can help
ensure Indigenous communities t are
appropriately involved in the projects
and incentivized to see projects move
forward on schedule.
The final pillar—delivery and risk management—
traditionally gets the most attention. Succeeding
here means project teams have the delivery
capability and technical acumen to be successful.
Independent reviews and due diligence around
the accuracy and viability of cost and timing
estimates is essential. Project owners need to
expunge optimism bias from the process. They
need realistic budgets that account for less-thanideal conditions, not only best-case scenarios.
Too often, projects fail because there wasn’t
enough budget or time allotted from the beginning.
Projects are often approved in principle before
there’s adequate engineering and design. However,
once those details are ironed out, teams are
reticent to increase budgets for fear the project will
be cancelled.
That approach won’t get anyone in the
infrastructure industry out of the cycle of failure
we’re experiencing. The six-pillar framework is a
tried-and-true formula that sets projects on the
road to success.
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PILLAR 5: APPROVALS AND SOCIAL LICENSE
The biggest challenge project owners have
right now is an enviable one: leading the
charge to build the nation Canadians want
and deserve. We’ve seen how stalwart
Canadians have been with the threat to our
economy, trade and sovereignty. In our haste
to deliver the things we need to protect—
our economy, our security, our resources
and biodiversity, our coasts, and trade—we
should learn from past failure. It’s not
caution or hesitation we need; it’s care.
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RENEWCANADA.NET
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025 – RENEW CANADA 35
