We were delighted to host a Collaborative Leaders in Highways Lunch at the House of Lords on 6th November. Welcomed by Lord John Hannett of Everton, ICW's Chairman, along with a thought-provoking keynote address from Elliot Shaw, Chief Customer and Strategy Officer at National Highways, it was an opportunity to bring together senior leaders in the sector. To explore how collaboration is shaping the future of highways and strengthening collaborative networks to enable successful delivery.
Collaboration at the Heart of Progress
In his welcome speech, Lord John Hannett highlighted that the highways community shares a well-defined shared purpose, through improving connectivity, safety, customer experience, and sustainability. With the government's commitment of £725 billion in long-term infrastructure investment, collaboration between public organisations and the supply chain is more essential than ever.
"Every success story in this industry is built on teams pulling in the same direction and sharing accountability", he emphasised.
Leading Collaboration
Elliott Shaw's keynote speech set out how the Government's Ten-Year Infrastructure Strategy outlines a long-term plan to boost economic growth, remove barriers, and ensure resilience - goals that can only be achieved through strong collaboration, leveraging diverse skills to enhance innovation, efficiency, safety, and customer satisfaction.
He explained that for National Highways, 80–90% of delivery is carried out by the supply chain, contributing to outstanding major results in RIS2 that included; 30 enhancement programmes, 8,500 km of renewed pavement, a 39% reduction in serious injuries, and over 150 new emergency areas. He outlined that as we move into RIS3, tools like the new Collaboration Diagnostic, developed jointly with the Institution for Collaborative Working by the Highways Forum and piloted across National Highways, will help strengthen behaviours, performance, and value across the entire infrastructure sector.
We're also grateful to Amy Williams, and Martyn Gannicott from National Highways for joining us and demonstrating, through their presence and continued support, that collaboration is a strategic priority for the sector.
Strengthening Collaborative Culture
Frank Lee, ICW's CEO, also reinforced the importance of collaboration in highways delivery:
"In highways, collaboration isn't just a nice idea - it's what keeps the country moving."
He noted that structured collaboration across designers, contractors, clients, and communities has already led to safer projects, greater public value, and a more resilient supply chain. He also encouraged leaders to expand collaboration across sectors to build social value, support future skills, and inspire the next generation.
The ICW Highways Forum: Setting New Standards
The event recognised the significant work of the ICW Highways Forum, jointly represented by National Highways and senior leaders from Associated Asphalt, Skanska, AE Yates, Amey, Jacobs, Sisk, Mott MacDonald, Balfour Beatty, Murphy, Graham, Breedon, Highway Care and many other companies.
The ICW Highways Forum has benefited enormously from the leadership of Dr. Ghaith Al-Werikat and Matt Morphet, whose energy, commitment, and vision have guided the group's work with purpose and professionalism.
Together, the Forum has developed a new behavioural collaboration tool to help teams measure and strengthen collaborative performance - enhancing psychological safety, inclusion, and shared accountability. ICW will now host the tool, with pilots beginning across the sector before a wider rollout, including to local highways authorities in 2026.
Recognising Leadership in Collaboration
A highlight of the event was the presentation of the Collaborative Champion Award to Matt Morphet, whose leadership and advocacy have been instrumental in advancing collaborative culture across the highways sector.
We extend sincere thanks to Associated Asphalt for sponsoring the event and for its continued support of collaborative working across the industry.
We look forward to continuing this important work together, shaping a more resilient and connected highways network that benefits communities and creates a better future for everyone.
