The “Accepted Programme” within the NEC3 form of contract is the fundamental tool for administering and control of time and cost issues within the project. It demands robust monitoring and project management control of the programme much more than other contracts such as JCT etc. Fundamentally, the Accepted Programme looks ahead, not back, and requires a collaborative approach by all parties involved within the project.

The following paragraph is a presentation I prepared and delivered several times to the construction, design and client teams during the course of successfully delivered contract valued £100 million.