Impacts of value engineering on five capital arts projects

More than 1 billion of public funding has been spent by the Arts Council of England (ACE) Lottery Fund on capital projects for the Arts. Many of these projects were completed late and over budget. Results from the incremental cross-case analysis of five contemporary Capital Arts projects are discussed to explore the potential for a more reliable delivery of Arts clients' 'visions'. The findings revealed continuous conflict arising out of the application of strictly linear project management, reinforced by the sequencing of funders' awards to match the industry's custom and practice work stages. Contemporary 're-engineered construction' presents value engineering as an important tool for managing financial out-turn. The impact of 'traditional' value engineering on the design and delivery of the case study 'visions' is investigated. Stakeholders' behaviours in managing value are compared with the industry's idealized models of cost control and client behaviour. The conclusions drawn indicate the necessity for dynamic management, enabling more creative iteration later in the process to balance the various stakeholders' visions, budget and time requirements. It is suggested that much more guidance is required for clients negotiating the post-feasibility stages of their capital projects to achieve this balance, and that this could take the form of a common evidence base of revelatory case studies to which this paper might contribute.