Answer extracted from the Beyond The Plan podcast — listen to the full episode below.
How does ISO 44001 help teams work together on complex projects?
ISO 44001 is the business relationship management standard that provides a structured framework for organisations to intentionally manage collaborative working. While not a complete solution on its own, it supports a systematic approach to ensuring all parties work together to create mutual additional value in delivering project outcomes.
A framework for intentional collaboration
ISO 44001 addresses a critical gap in project delivery: most organisations assume good relationships will happen naturally, but they rarely do without deliberate design. The standard provides a starting point for building intentionality around business relationship management, helping teams move beyond contract compliance to genuine partnership.
The real power of ISO 44001 lies in its systematic nature. Rather than leaving relationship quality to individual personalities or goodwill, it creates a structured approach that can be applied consistently across large, complex organisations. As discussed in the Beyond The Plan episode, the framework helps teams understand their values and behaviours, then audits the surrounding systems and processes to identify gaps that might undermine those values.
Why contracts alone are insufficient
Most project failures don't stem from poorly drafted contracts—they begin after the contract is signed. Contracts define obligations but cannot mandate collaboration or trust, and this is where ISO 44001 becomes essential. The standard shifts focus from what people must do (contractual obligations) to how they work together (relationship culture).
Organisations working within Australia's Department of Defence and Government Security on mega projects have discovered that collaborative frameworks like ISO 44001 reduce blame-shifting and create mechanisms for parties to solve problems together rather than escalate disputes. When teams adopt this standard, they establish a shared language and accountability structure that supports the overall outcome rather than protecting individual positions.
"You will know a collaborative culture exists when one party will take it on themselves to actually act to their detriment for the other party, because that allows for the achievement of the overall outcome."
Brett Ackroyd — Commercial Lawyer with 25 to 26 years of experience working on mega projects within the Department of Defence and Government Security area. Ackroyd specialises in moving projects to success after contract execution, focusing on how organisations can intentionally design business relationships that support complex delivery outcomes across multiple parties and industries.
The example of Scottish Water's collaborative projects demonstrates this in practice: organisations implementing collaborative working frameworks showed significantly reduced delay times compared to non-collaborative projects, translating the relationship standard into measurable schedule benefits.
See also
How should business relationship management be structured in major projects?
Collaborative working is a systemic approach to managing business relationships that must be intentional, enduring, and scalable. Organisations need to align their values, behaviours, and surrounding systems to support genuine partnership and mutual value creation.
What defines a collaborative working culture in complex project delivery?
A collaborative working culture exists when people will act in situations without certainty of their commercial outcome to the benefit of the overall project outcome, because the shared commitment to success overrides individual risk protection.
Key takeaways
- ISO 44001 provides a systematic framework for intentional relationship management, moving beyond contractual compliance to genuine partnership.
- Contracts define obligations but cannot mandate collaboration; ISO 44001 fills this gap by establishing relationship culture and accountability structures.
- Organisations implementing collaborative frameworks see measurable benefits, including reduced project delays and decreased blame-shifting between parties.
- The standard works by aligning values and behaviours with surrounding systems and processes, creating barriers to relationship failures.