The partnership model adopted by Solutions is the first of its kind in the water industry where client, consultants and contractors collaborate together on a jointly incentivised basis.

It is based on the principles of achieving mutual goals, shared risk and reward, continuous improvement in relationships and the active and practical involvement of all interested parties in joint decision making.

The financial rewards come to all of the partners on the delivery of the programme, each partner being incentivised to work for the good of the programme as a whole rather than individually on a project basis. Fees are earned by the partners for the work completed and incentives have been built into the payment mechanism. These fees are significantly at risk for underperformance.

Further incentivisation is delivered through a pain-gain share mechanism which requires Solutions to out perform against the expected investment delivery cost and future operating costs of these assests.

This collective incentivisation eliminates costly claims, a common feature of the UK construction industry and creates a win/win, lose/lose situation for all the partners.

The Board of Directors is comprised of the Chairman, Geoff Aitkenhead, and two board directors from Scottish Water, with UUGM and Stirling Water contributing two further directors each. The Board meets on a monthly basis to review Solutions’ operational and financial performance, business strategy and risk management.

Reporting to the Board is an Executive Management Team responsible for the day-to-day operation of Solutions within the strategy determined by the Board. The Executive Management Team has ten members from the Partner organisations and is led by Chief Operating Officer Michael Martin.