Social value management in megaprojects: A study of UK nuclear decommissioning and remediation

The Public Services (Social Value) Act of 2012 outlines the need for all publicly funded projects to evidence consideration of social value in their work. These legislation guidelines are relatively new however, and as such, are yet to be streamlined. In expanding the application of social value therefore, research is still needed to determine the meaning of social value under different contexts, measurement approaches used, the stakeholders involved, and how it may change over time. This research examines how stakeholders make meaning out of social value in decommissioning megaprojects, and further, examines how all determined components interact with one another. The process of project end of life, decommissioning and remediation, offers opportunities to learn how megaprojects can deliver and create social value. Two case studies of 'Lead and Learn' sites, Trawsfynydd and Dounreay, have been developed to compare sites of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority [NDA], and identify lessons which can be transferred to other sites. The cases were developed based on qualitative approaches utilising interviews, observations, documentary archival analysis and supplementary data from site visits. The multiple sources of data created a rich account for each case study. Common themes of social value were found in both cases, but the primary focus of stakeholders in each differed; the opportunities of nuclear energy at Dounreay for example, were readily welcomed by a community in decline when first opened in the 1950s. The area is now again facing issues of skill decline and unemployment. At Trawsfynydd, in response to stakeholders, the project is being assessed for changes to technical plans over the next 70 years to determine if factoring in social, economic and environmental concerns could prove a smoother transition to the final Site End State. Key contributions of this study are two-fold. Firstly, where social value is often simply measured, this thesis demonstrates the need to understand the meaning making process behind it. And secondly, while investigating megaprojects at the end of life, this thesis has identified and conceptualised the cradle to cradle notion within megaprojects.