IN Brief:
- BAM, Galliford Try, Morgan Sindall, and Wates will provide collaborative partner services in England and Wales, with Graham covering Northern Ireland and Robertson covering Scotland.
- The four-year framework has an estimated value of up to £5bn and includes 56 appointed suppliers across five principal lots.
- The collaborative arrangements introduce contractor expertise during early project development, before individual construction contracts are agreed.
Pagabo has confirmed six collaborative partners for its £5bn National Framework for Major Works 2026, introducing contractor involvement during the earlier stages of public sector project development. BAM, Galliford Try, Morgan Sindall, and Wates have been appointed for England and Wales, while Graham will cover Northern Ireland and Robertson will provide the corresponding role in Scotland.
The appointments form part of the framework’s third generation, which became operational in October and will run for four years. They establish a defined collaborative role for the six businesses, separate from the procurement of individual construction contracts. Public sector clients will be able to engage delivery expertise while developing project requirements, construction strategies and commercial arrangements, rather than waiting until a completed design is issued for tender.
The wider framework includes 56 appointed suppliers across five principal lots. Its estimated total value of up to £5bn represents the potential value of work that may be procured through the arrangement, not contracts already awarded or guaranteed expenditure. Previous generations of the major works framework supported projects worth more than £3bn in total, according to Pagabo.
Contractor participation during project development can influence decisions on buildability, sequencing and access before major design assumptions become fixed. On a constrained construction site, the location of lifting equipment, temporary works, delivery routes and material storage areas can affect how the permanent building is designed and assembled. Establishing these requirements earlier may avoid the need to revise an otherwise developed design when a contractor is subsequently appointed.
The approach also provides an opportunity to examine the availability of specialist trades and materials. A project may require mechanical and electrical equipment with substantial procurement lead times, unusual structural components or construction methods dependent on limited specialist capacity. These constraints can affect the order in which work packages are delivered and the overall construction programme, particularly where several projects are competing for the same resources.
Early involvement does not remove the technical and commercial responsibilities associated with delivering a project. Design information must still be sufficiently developed to support construction, while procurement and contractual decisions must follow the framework’s applicable processes. Clients will need to establish the services required from a collaborative partner and distinguish those activities from the award of a subsequent construction contract.
Pagabo developed the collaborative model following market engagement intended to identify how the framework could respond to changing construction conditions. The procurement specialist has identified improved cost and programme certainty, risk management and more informed early decisions as objectives. Those are intended benefits of the arrangement, rather than measured outcomes already achieved through the new appointments.
The ability to test a delivery programme before procurement can provide more reliable information about the relationship between design, resources and construction methods. For example, the proposed order of structural work may depend on when foundations can be completed, whether specialist components are available, and how other trades can access the working area. A programme that does not account for these dependencies can become difficult to deliver even where the individual construction activities are technically feasible.
Likewise, cost estimates developed before the construction method is understood can be affected by later changes to temporary works, logistics and sequencing. Contractor input can help identify those requirements when the client still has flexibility to amend the design or programme. The final price will nevertheless depend on the defined scope, the commercial arrangements and conditions in the construction market when the work is procured.
The framework is managed by Pagabo on behalf of YPO, which acts as the centralised procurement authority. The two organisations have established a ten-year strategic delivery partnership covering several procurement frameworks, while the National Framework for Major Works itself has a four-year term. It has been structured under the Procurement Act 2023 and the Procurement Regulations 2024.
Eligible users include local authorities, NHS and other health service organisations, emergency services, housing providers and education bodies. Their projects may range from new public buildings and extensions to refurbishment, retrofit and specialist construction work. Each type of project presents different demands for design coordination, site access, operational continuity and procurement, particularly where work must be undertaken alongside existing public services.
The framework covers construction opportunities principally valued at £5m and above, with the lot structure providing different routes according to project value and geography. The wider supplier panel includes contractors appointed to relevant value bands, while the collaborative partners have a specific function during earlier project engagement. These arrangements should not be treated as interchangeable appointments or as evidence that every named supplier has secured individual construction work.
Pagabo also provides digital systems to support framework activity, including procurement management, contract administration and social value monitoring. Its wider offering includes the Sypro contract management platform and ImpactOS social value system. These tools address the management and reporting of procurement and project commitments; they do not replace the engineering design or site management functions undertaken by construction teams.
The latest collaborative partner announcement follows the appointment of the wider 56-supplier panel in October. It also concerns a different procurement route from Pagabo’s recently opened £2bn regional construction framework tender, which addresses smaller construction opportunities and has its own procurement timetable.
With the major works framework now live, public bodies can examine whether early collaborative engagement is appropriate for their planned projects. Individual schemes will still require defined requirements, approved budgets, procurement decisions and construction contracts. The six appointed partners provide a route for obtaining contractor input before those later commitments are made, with the operational results of the approach to emerge as projects progress through the framework.
