Strong contracts don’t deliver handback – people and structure do

Why governance matters in PFI handback

Even with strong data and clear standards, PFI handback success ultimately depends on governance, collaboration and capability. Mott MacDonald commercial director Katherine Jackson explains in this final article of her five part blog series on PFI handback. 

By the time PFI handback approaches, most technical challenges are already understood. What determines how they play out is how effectively people work together to deliver them. 

Where governance is clear and collaboration is constructive, issues are resolved early and progress is maintained. Where it is not, even straightforward decisions can become slow and contested. 

The role of structure

Across handback, technical challenges rarely exist in isolation. Data quality affects condition assessments; ambiguity shapes commercial positions; and late planning increases pressure on teams. 

What dictates whether these issues escalate or are managed is whether the right people, with the right capability (and capacity), are working within a structure that supports effective decision-making. 

This is why collaboration is not a soft factor, it is a defining one.

When governance isn’t working 

Governance structures may exist but are not always actively used. Escalation routes can be unclear, reporting inconsistent and decisions slower than required. 

Over time, alignment weakens. Teams begin to work from different assumptions, and routine discussions become more difficult. 

Re-establishing structure is often straightforward: clear roles, defined escalation pathways, consistent reporting and proactive engagement. 

Capability at expiry

PFI contracts typically extend beyond organisational memory. By the time expiry approaches, many of the people involved in earlier decisions have moved on, and therefore institutional knowledge is limited. 

At the same time, organisations may need to rebuild technical, commercial and asset management capability after years of relying on outsourced delivery. Doing this under pressure can amplify existing challenges. 

Addressing capability early allows organisations to engage confidently, test assumptions effectively and maintain control as complexity increases. 

Enabling a controlled transition 

The organisations that manage handback most effectively act early. They establish clear governance, align around a shared evidence base and ensure the right capability is in place well before expiry becomes critical. 

In doing so, handback shifts from a late-stage challenge to a structured, manageable process.