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About Learning Legacy

The HS2 Learning Legacy is the collation and dissemination of good practice, innovation and lessons learned from HS2 aimed at raising the bar in industry, improving UK productivity and showcasing UK PLC.

The HS2 Learning Legacy builds on previous major projects’ learning legacies including the Crossrail Learning Legacy, Thameslink Learning Legacy and the London 2012 Learning Legacy and contributes to an overall body of knowledge on major projects captured on the Major Projects Knowledge hub.

The HS2 Learning Legacy aims to share:

  • Knowledge and insight gained during the lifetime of the programme that may be of benefit to future projects and programmes
  • Documents and templates that have been used successfully on the programme that can be ‘borrowed with pride’ by other projects
  • Datasets that can inform future research projects
  • The experts behind the delivery of the HS2 programme

HS2 Learning Legacy Podcast

HS2’s Learning Legacy Podcast is a five-part series exploring the Learning Legacy programme. Each episode focuses on different approaches which represent an opportunity to raise the standards of engineering, design, innovation and safety.   

The series features speakers from across the company, supply chain and wider industry giving their insight on the blueprints, plans and ideas to collaboration, execution and results.  

It also looks into how HS2 fits into the bigger Learning Legacy picture. Starting with its introduction at London 2012, knowledge sharing developments as part of Crossrail, and where the HS2 is leading by example to push the construction and engineering industry to new heights.

Find out more and listen to the podcast.

Capturing Learning Legacy Content

Learning legacy content is captured through a series of challenges which issue an open call to the whole HS2 family for papers and other resources on themes and topics relevant to large infrastructure projects.

A previous challenges are shown in the table below. Each Learning Legacy challenge has a business sponsor who chairs a panel of HS2 and IPT (integrated project team) representatives that provide expertise and oversight for each challenge.

HS2 runs one challenge a year to capture content from across the HS2 family sharing learning across the defined themes. Additionally a targetted programme of strategic insight papers also aims to capture the client-side insight via case studies. We also run an Open Challenge which allows us to capture learning legacy resources that fall outside the remit or timeline of the formal learning legacy challenges and technical paper competitions.

YearChallenge TitleChallenge key
2020Technical Papers Competition 2020Captured content on technical excellence and learning
2021Safe at heart Captured lessons learned, good practice and  innovation on health, safety and well being
2021Preparing the GroundCaptured learning, good practice and innovation from the early works prior to the commencement of main works
2022Technical Papers Competition 2022Captured content on technical excellence and learning
2023Construction and Safe at heart Captures learning, good practice and innovation about the construction of Phase One with a focus on key learning about health, safety and well being
2024Environment, Innovation and Design Captures learning, good practice and innovation on environment, innovation and design
Forward look of challenges and competitions

Contributing to the Learning Legacy

If you have worked on the HS2 project and have a learning legacy to share then please read the guidance on how to submit a Learning Legacy paper or other resource,

Publication

Website

Learning legacy content will be published on this website at the end of each learning legacy challenge. The website has been designed to be simple and easily searchable with clear filters and a high quality search engine.

Print

As part of the Technical Papers Competitions, when a learning legacy paper is approved, it will be published in a volume by the Institution of Civil Engineers. Content may also be published in our industry partner’s professional journals.

Application Programme Interface (API)

This website also automatically links and uploads HS2 Learning Legacy papers to the Major Projects Association Knowledge Repository. Please email [email protected] if you would like further details.

Dissemination

Dissemination is the active sharing of knowledge to interested parties. For the HS2 Learning Legacy this is through industry partnerships, knowledge sharing agreements with other major projects, academic engagement and Government engagement. 

Industry Partners

The HS2 Learning Legacy collaborates with industry partners such as professional associations and industry bodies and includes a series of knowledge-sharing events and publication of a number of professional journals. These are our industry partners.

13 logos of the professional associations and industry bodies that have signed up to be learning legacy industry partners -  SOM , Railway Industry Association, IOM, BOHS, RIBA, IET, APM, INCOSE UK, Major Projects Association, Supply Chain Sustainability School. ICE, The Permanent Way Institution, CIOB
13 logos of the professional associations and industry bodies that have signed up to be learning legacy industry partners.
Industry Partners
Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM)
Rail Industry Association (RIA)
Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM)
British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS)
Royal Institute of British Architecture (RIBA)
Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
Association for Project Management (APM)
International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE UK)
Major Projects Association (MPA) 
Supply Chain Sustainability School
Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
The Permanent Way Institution (PWI)
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)
List of Industry Partners

If you are interested in becoming an industry partner, please contact [email protected].