IOC-OECD INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOPS ON GAMES RELATED PROCUREMENT HELD SUCCESSFULLY
The effective delivery of infrastructure and associated services for the Olympic Games was the focus of two dedicated webinars held last week. The virtual sessions brought together experts from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Organising Committees (OCOGs) of Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026 and LA 2028, and public authorities.
The combination of infrastructure and procurement, two complex and high-risk areas, exposes major sporting events to a range of threats to effective, transparent and accountable delivery. To support OCOGs in addressing these threats, the IOC and the OECD are in the process of developing actionable guidelines which would cover critical dimensions in the effective delivery of sports infrastructure and associated services. The webinars, organised jointly by the two organisations, served to discuss the draft findings from the IOC-OECD project, and establish solutions to identified challenges which will be reflected in the guidelines.
The two organisations have been collaborating since 2017 in the framework of the International Partnership against Corruption in Sport (IPACS), particularly on the mitigation of corruption risks in the procurement process. Their latest project complements the previous study of IPACS Task Force 1 and the IOC publication “Procurement of Major International Sport-events-related Infrastructure and Services: Good practices and guidelines for the Olympic Movement” to which the OECD and Paris 2024 jointly contributed.
The sessions, which took place on 25 and 27 October, focused on the main four clusters related to the identified risks under the IOC-OECD project, namely:
- Institutional set-up and organisational management
- Stakeholder participation
- Sustainability and legacy
- Programme management
Experts on each of these four topics shared their insights with the workshop participants and showcased how cross-cutting challenges influence the delivery of Games-related infrastructure and associated services. These challenges are not unique to the world of sports, and both the OECD’s policy communities on infrastructure and public procurement and related OECD recommendations are highly relevant in this context.
The panellists shared concrete experiences on the strategic choices that need to be made for designing agile organisations, for making sustainability a lasting reality and bringing together the multiple pieces of a complex delivery programme successfully. From managing a variety of stakeholders to embedding sustainability objectives in project delivery, these challenges require tailored risk management strategies that take into account strategic objectives, financial resources and existing assets, as well as overall context and capacity.
The webinar discussions will feed into the final output of the project which are guidelines on the delivery of Games infrastructure and associated services, aimed at supporting knowledge management and sharing across OCOGs. They will also provide a resource for any organisation looking to maximise the value of infrastructure investments and services. The guidelines are expected to be published during the first half of 2023.
