The Infrastructure Podcast

In this episode of the podcast we are explore the way the UK Armed Services has been radically upping its game in terms of the support, promotion and development of professional engineering careers. 
To do this, I'm joined today by Squadron Leader David Littlemore from the Royal Air Force, currently executive officer infrastructure at Cyber and Specialist Operations Command. 
David is also fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, in fact, the only chartered civil engineer in the RAF, and I'd say that he is also a passionate advocate for merging the best of military and civilian engineering training to create complete and capable professional engineers fit for the future. 
David’s engineering career journey was unorthodox. He started straight from school, aged 16, working in a bridge design office, where he progressed through ONC and then HNC studies before gaining a degree in Civil Engineering at Durham University. He then switched to the military by being commissioning into the Royal Air Force in 2008. 
Since then his career has bridged the gap between civilian consultancy and high-stakes military infrastructure, tackling work across the UK and from the South Atlantic to the Middle East.
And today, as a Chartered Civil Engineer, he is certainly testament to the "long winding road" of modern professional engineering careers. 
Beyond his technical expertise in project management and infrastructure delivery, he mentors young technicians and engineers and is committed to helping the next generation understand the profound value of professional recognition, and what it takes to build a career.
Resources
RAF Cyber and Specialist Operations Command
RAF professional engineering careers
David Littlemore Linked In
ICE routes to membership
ICE Council
QUEST scholarships

In this episode we dive into the infrastructure sector’s journey towards digitisation, decarbonisation and modernisation – a journey which to be honest, seems like one that we have been on for some time.
To do this, my guest is Mark Coates, Vice President of Infrastructure Policy Advancement at software giant Bentley Systems and the guiding mind behind TIP, the Transforming Infrastructure Performance global Summit initiative, the latest iteration of which was held last month in Melbourne.
Full disclosure – from the earliest days TIP back in 2022, I have been working with Mark to deliver the summits – in London, Manchester, Singapore, Toronto, New York and, as I say, most recently Melbourne. And it’s fair to say that, throughout this global journey, we have seen many common failings across the delivery chain but also, thankfully, identified a huge number of positive lessons to be shared.
One thing that is clear is that “business as usual”,  the "old way" of delivering projects - siloed data, stagnant productivity, and resource-heavy construction – is broken.
Hence the need for a Transformation of Infrastructure Performance. Born from a UK government initiative and now championed by the National Infrastructure Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) alongside partners like Bentley Systems and the Institution of Civil Engineers, TIP has evolved from a local policy framework into a worldwide movement aimed at repairing this broken model. It’s goal is to help governments around the world to find better ways to deliver the infrastructure needed to support their communities.
So let’s hear more – what does the roadmap look like for a future where infrastructure truly performs for people and the planet?
Resources
Transforming Infrastructure Performance Summit Melbourne
UK government 10 year Infrastructure Strategy
Mark Coates Linked In
Bentley Systems Year in Infrastructure 2025
Australian Infrastructure Investment Monitor
Bentley Systems website
Construction Leadership Council

In this week's episode we take a deep dive into the global infrastructure investment market as I chat to Jon Phillips, chief executive of GIIA, the Global Infrastructure Investors Association.
The Association represents the world's foremost institutional investors who together manage over US$2.2 trillion in infrastructure assets across 68 countries. And as we stand in 2026, the landscape for private capital has never been more complex. 
The podcast is being recorded during the latest Transforming Infrastructure Performance Summit hosted by software giant Bentley Systems and the Institution of Civil Engineers in Melbourne so gives us an opportunity to also explore how the infrastructure market is fairing on this side of the world and the pressures, challenges and opportunities that clients and investors face in the Australian and South East Asian market.
While globally 2025 saw record-breaking fundraising, the industry is grappling with a fascinating paradox: a massive hunger for "bankable" projects set against a backdrop of geopolitical shifts, from the evolving impact of the Trump administration to the cooling of the AI-driven digital infrastructure boom.
Jon’s career spans the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to Heathrow, and nearly a decade at the helm of GIIA, where he now sits at the intersection of policy, delivery, and capital. 
Which makes him the perfect person to give us a quick update on the global infrastructure investment market. 
Resources
The Global Infrastructure Investors Association
GIIA’s latest Infrastructure Pulse survey 
Jon Phillips Linked In
Australian Infrastructure Investment Monitor
Victoria State infrastructure strategy
Transforming Infrastructure Performance Summit Melbourne

In this week's episode we return to the New Hospital Programme - still one of the most ambitious public infrastructure programmes the UK has seen in decades. 
The last time I was in NHP’s Waterloo office in London was for episode 143 just before Christmas. Then I spoke to Emily King and Doug Baldock about the scale and urgency of the challenge to replace ageing and unsafe hospital infrastructure, and the shift towards industrialised construction through the £37bn Hospital 2.0 programme.
Today, we’re going deeper into the “how”. 
Because £37 billion of ambition only becomes reality if the market can actually deliver it.
To do that I am joined by Emma Whigham, Alliance Director for the NHP Alliance, and Rick Lennard, Chief Operating Officer for the New Hospital Programme. Together, they’re at the sharp end of designing and procuring the Hospital 2.0 Alliance - the new commercial and delivery model intended to underpin the programme for the next 12 years.
This is about more than building hospitals. It’s about reshaping how the NHS works with industry, creating a stable pipeline that gives suppliers the confidence to invest in skills, manufacturing capacity and modern methods of construction. 
It’s about standardisation without stifling innovation. And it’s about learning from decades of fragmented delivery to create something more programmatic, predictable and collaborative.
So let’s crack on and explore how the Alliance is structured, what early market engagement has changed, where the market pushback really is - or is likely to be. 
Resources
New Hospital Programme: Plan for Implementation
Government hospital investment press release 
Hospital 2.0 Alliance
Supplier Guide.
Egan review 1998
Latham review 1994

This week's special 151st episode was recorded in front of a live audience at last year’s brilliant Transforming Infrastructure Performance Summit hosted by Bentley Systems and the Institution of Civil Engineers in Toronto Canada.
In fact, right about the time this episode is published I will be in Melbourne helping the team to deliver the next event in this TIP series – so look out for podcast flowing out of that!
Back to this episode and my guest is Peter Weltman, Vice Chair of the Canada Infrastructure Council, Director at consultant Technomics and until 2023, Financial Accountability Officer for Ontario.
We discuss the critical issue of Housing-Enabling Infrastructure and its impact on the future of Canada’s Communities – and in particular the work being done to help Canada respond to its growing housing challenge,. 
Because Canada’s housing challenge is not just about bricks and mortar - it’s about the infrastructure that makes communities liveable, sustainable, and connected. Roads, transit, water systems, energy grids, digital networks, and social infrastructure all form the backbone that enables housing to be built, scaled, and supported over the long term. 
Without this foundation, new homes risk becoming isolated developments rather than thriving communities.
As population growth accelerates, climate shocks intensify, and affordability pressures mount, the question is not whether Canada needs more homes, but whether we can deliver the enabling infrastructure at the speed and scale required. 
That means moving beyond fragmented planning toward coordinated investment, smarter regulation, and nation-building programs that unlock land and create confidence for both communities and private investors. The creation of the new Major Projects Office (MPO) should help by creating a single point of contact to get projects built faster – the question is how - and what needs to change first.
The Council is at the heart of shaping Canada’s infrastructure ambitions – we’ll hear how later on – and has just produced its first National Infrastructure Assessment report which I reckon will provide essential reading for all.
So lots to chat through, and I kicked off by asking why is infrastructure so critical to solving Canada’s housing challenge. 
Resources
Canadian Infrastructure Council
CIC National Infrastructure Assessment report - Building Foundations for Tomorrow:
Transforming Infrastructure Performance Toronto Summit
Technomics website