The Government Property Agency has brought two major North American consultancies on board to support the government hubs and Whitehall Campus Programmes.
WSP and Tetra Tech will act as “strategic partners” with the GPA “to deliver projects that will drive economic growth throughout the UK, help transform the civil service, contribute to wider greening government commitments and add value through a smaller, better and greener public estate”, the agency said in a press release.
The contracts – the value of which has not yet been disclosed – cover design and specialist services for the two programmes, as well as “a variety of client funded projects”.
WSP, a Canadian company that says it works to “plan, advise, design, manage and engineer long lasting solutions that benefit generations to come”, will provide design service; while US firm Tetra Tech will provide specialist services. The California-based company says its mission is to be “the premier worldwide consulting and engineering firm, focusing on water, environment, sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, and international development”.
The contracts are for an initial four-year term, with the option to extend for up to three years.
The GPA’s director of capital projects, Clive Anderson, said the strategic partnerships will “provide the GPA with industry-leading professional services support for up to seven years, enabling more efficient project delivery, [and] greater value for money across the most diverse and challenging real estate programmes in the UK”.
“Social value was a key element within this tender process, with a focus on tackling economic inequality through the creation of employment, training and growth in all regions of the UK; and driving sustainability benefits through net-zero interventions,” he said.
Alex Burghart, a junior minister in the Cabinet Office, said: “The GPA has a pivotal role to play in the government’s wider civil service transformation agenda, creating more productive and efficient workplaces for the civil servants who are working tirelessly to address some of the biggest challenges facing our country.
“It is vital that the GPA draws on the talent of specialist expertise in order to develop innovative solutions, ensuring the GPA delivers on its commitments, while also ensuring best value for taxpayer money.”