INFRASTRUCTURE & UTILITIES
The world's most ambitious infrastructure programmes share a common challenge: technical excellence alone doesn't guarantee success.
Water systems, energy networks, transport infrastructure, climate adaptation — these complex programmes require behaviour change at every level. Leaders who can navigate uncertainty. Organisations that learn and adapt under pressure. Supply chains that collaborate rather than comply. Communities that engage rather than resist.
WILD builds the human capability that makes complex infrastructure delivery succeed.
The Challenge
Infrastructure programmes typically invest heavily in engineering, project management, procurement, and technical capability. These are necessary — but insufficient.
The programmes that stall, that face community opposition, that deliver assets but not outcomes, that struggle to embed lasting change — these programmes have underinvested in human capability. They've treated behaviour change as a communications problem rather than a systems problem.
WILD approaches infrastructure differently. We work inside-out: building adaptive capacity in leadership first, then extending through the organisation, supply chain, and community. This sequence matters. You cannot ask communities to change behaviour if your own organisation hasn't done the work first.
WILD's methodology addresses human capability at every level of a complex system:
Leadership & Organisation:
Developing the mindset, agency, and adaptive capacity that enables leaders and teams to lean into complexity. Moving from compliance culture to learning culture — and measuring the shift.
Supply Chain & Delivery Partners:
Extending shared capability across contractors, partners, and the broader delivery ecosystem. Alignment isn't about contracts; it's about shared language, shared purpose, shared capacity to adapt.
Customer & Community:
Enabling genuine behaviour change in the communities infrastructure programmes serve. Not campaigns imposed from outside, but engagement built on the foundation of internal transformation.
Measurement & Evidence:
28 years of peer-reviewed research. Validated diagnostic tools that measure learning power, adaptive capacity, and behaviour change. Evidence that satisfies boards, regulators, and investors
Full-Stack Behaviour Change
WILD has delivered human capability programmes for major utilities and infrastructure organisations across three continents. Current and recent engagements include:
HUNTER WATER CORPORATION (Australia)
Transforming a utility from the inside out
Hunter Water Corporation — the public utility serving the Lower Hunter region of New South Wales — partnered with WILD to transform from a compliance-focused organisation into an adaptive, learning-driven utility.
The transformation extended from executive leadership through the organisation, into the supply chain, and ultimately into the community through the award-winning "Love Water" campaign.
Results: Measurable culture shift, sustained operational improvement, genuine community behaviour change.
The proof point: Sydney Water attempted to replicate the community campaign without the internal work. Limited impact. The inside-out sequence cannot be skipped.
“In 2016 we appointed Jim Bentley to lead Hunter Water Corporation with a mandate to transform our performance and customer experience. One of the most significant contributions to the measurable behaviour change and operational performance improvement we achieved – with staff, partners and customers - was Professor Crick’s thought leadership based on the science of Learning Power.
A compliance focused organisation which had forgotten how to learn became curious about what we could achieve and optimistic about the future we could build with our community.”
~ Terry Lawler AO, former Chairman Hunter Water Corporation
SCOTTISH WATER — SR27 PROGRAMME (UK)
Building human capability for one of the UK's largest infrastructure investments
Scottish Water's SR27 programme represents a step-change in infrastructure investment for Scotland's water system. WILD is embedded as a strategic partner, working alongside AECOM as co-Primary Designer to build the human capability that will determine whether this programme delivers lasting transformation — not just assets.
Focus areas: Leadership and workforce development across Scottish Water and its delivery partners. Building adaptive capacity for a programme that will span multiple years and require sustained behaviour change at every level.
Status: Programme mobilisation underway, 2025–2027.
"Further detail available under NDA for qualified partners."
PORTSMOUTH WATER (UK)
Starting behaviour change with your own people
Facing significant water demand reduction targets, Portsmouth Water recognised that asking customers to change behaviour required starting internally. WILD's methodology is building the adaptive capacity and "future thinking skills" that enable Portsmouth Water's people to lead behaviour change authentically.
“Faced with significant water demand reduction challenges we knew that we needed to start the behaviour change journey with our own people. WILD’s learning power approach has been instrumental in equipping our staff with the belief and future thinking skills to learn with our customers as we change our water use behaviour.”
~ Bob Taylor, CEO, Portsmouth Water
Methodology, not just consultancy
28 years of research. Validated measurement tools. A replicable approach that builds internal capability rather than consultant dependency.
Inside-out sequence
We know the order matters. Leadership first, then organisation, then supply chain, then community. Skip a step and the programme underdelivers.
Evidence that satisfies stakeholders
Boards, regulators, and investors increasingly require evidence of behaviour change and cultural transformation. WILD's diagnostic tools provide that evidence.
Embedded, not bolted on
We work as strategic partners inside programmes, not external advisors offering occasional workshops. Human capability is integrated into programme design and delivery.
Why Infrastructure Programmes Choose WILD
Delivering a complex infrastructure programme?
Let's discuss how WILD can build the human capability your programme requires.