Accord welcomes new members to lead transformation delivery

Co-chairs of the Construction Sector Accord (the Accord) Chris Bunny and Peter Reidy say that nearly 18 months on from the launch of the Accord there is tangible evidence of the difference it has made to the construction sector.

Jointly developed by Government Ministers, agencies and construction sector leaders, the Accord is an unprecedented and bold step towards strengthening the partnership between government and industry. The ultimate goal – to build a high performing construction sector.

"The Construction Sector Accord responded to COVID-19 with an outstanding level of industry collaboration, leadership and urgency – that momentum is now focussed on ensuring we have a united and resilient construction sector," says Peter.

Valuable Resources

Chris Bunny points to the development of the Rapid Mobilisation Playbook(external link) as an example of the Accord partnering with industry and government to produce valuable resources to help the sector.

"It's important that our construction sector is able to mobilise quickly to support recovery. The Rapid Mobilisation Playbook is a fantastic resource which will be a great support for both public and private organisations involved in large construction projects, working to tight timeframes," says Chris.

Another initiative that is strengthening industry partnerships is the Accord Forum. Established in March during the sector's response to COVID-19 it has grown to become an instrumental platform for people to provide input on resources, discuss issues and hear from government minsters and industry leaders.

Accord Steering Group and Transformation Delivery Group driving change

Through its three-year Transformation Plan, the Accord is driving behaviour change to lift overall performance and achieve a safer, better skilled and more productive industry, and to share good practice across the sector.

Driving the change are members of the Accord Steering Group (ASG) and Transformation Delivery Group (TDG), made up of industry leaders from commercial and government organisations.

Members of the ASG are responsible for oversight and governance of the Accord programme, as well as acting as an advisor to government on emerging sector issues. The Transformation Delivery Group is responsible for the design and delivery of the Transformation Plan’s workstreams and seeking wider support for sector change.

Chris Bunny and Peter Reidy thanked the sector leaders who were leaving the Accord Steering Group and Transformation Delivery Group and welcomed the new members.

"Retiring members have been instrumental in the development of the programme and have been crucial in setting the bar and driving the Accord principles and behaviours in the sector," says Chris.

New members bring in expertise from different parts of the sector. This allows ASG to maintain its oversight role which is to continue to deliver, at pace, programmes that will improve behaviours and performance across the sector.

Joining the Accord Steering Group is Judi Keith-Brown, President of the New Zealand Institute of Architects. Judi says the Construction Sector Accord has successfully brought together a diverse group of people involved in the construction industry.

"Since the Accord's inception, its signatories have worked together with commitment and purpose, and these qualities will be needed to get the industry through this turbulent time. The organisations gathered under the umbrella of the Accord are striving to ensure there is a good spread of work – in terms of geography, project type, and stage of delivery – across all sectors of the industry.

"From the point of view of those at the design end of the construction industry – architects, engineers, and landscape architects – while "shovel ready" projects will help in the short term, we need to make a path for a future stream of similar work," says Judi.

New Environment Workstream a significant opportunity

A new member of the Transformation Delivery Group is BRANZ CEO, Chelydra Percy who will lead the Environment workstream. Chelydra says she is thrilled to see the addition of the environment workstream to the Construction Sector Accord Transformation Plan and is delighted to be leading this work.

"The workstream presents a significant opportunity to leverage great work already happening across industry and government and to identify the collective actions we can progress in this important and urgent area.

"As a multi-faceted, science-led organisation, that uses independent research and systems knowledge to identify practical solutions that improve New Zealand’s building system performance, BRANZ is well placed to support the Accord.

"I look forward to bringing our perspective and building on the commitment industry leaders and government have already brought to the Accord to wrestle with the issues and find pragmatic solutions together," says Chelydra.

See the full membership of the Accord Steering Group and the Transformation Steering Group.