Untapped Value in Capital Projects Research Solutions – IPA’s Project Research Division at a Glance
When it comes to oil extraction, more oil is left in the ground than is produced, which, if you consider the volumes produced today, is a staggeringly large amount of oil left behind.
In some ways, this is analogous to the value contained in IPA’s database of capital projects. We extract enormous value from the data which support our research, our evaluation of projects, and our mission to improve the capital efficiency of our clients. But if you consider the scale of the data at our disposal—tens of thousands of projects, each with many thousands of pieces of information captured electronically—you quickly realize that much of the potential of this database remains untapped.
Unlike oil reservoirs, which face technical barriers in how much more value can be extracted, pulling more value out of our data is simply a matter of deepening our collaboration with you—our clients. To understand why, let’s review the four critical elements of providing data driven solutions: the database, IPA’s methodology, our research staff, and our collaboration with our clients.
Capital Projects Database
As highlighted above, we have an enormous database, the product of more than 25 years of evaluating projects. And this reservoir of data is constantly being fed by a river of new information from project evaluations and other engagements. The information we store electronically is really just the tip of the iceberg— the information captured in client documentation is perhaps an order of magnitude bigger than our database and is another resource we have at our disposal.
IPA Methodology
The database, while the bedrock of everything we do, requires normalization and sophisticated analytical techniques to extract insights. Whether normalizing costs to a common base period or base location, or controlling for a multitude of factors that influence a metric of interest, our analytical methodologies cut through the noise and unlock the true relationships hidden within the data.
Project Research Staff
IPA employs a team with specialized skills to apply these analytical techniques and extract value and insights from the data. Our research and project analysts combine deep statistical knowledge with extensive experience studying capital projects. IPA analysts and researchers have a variety of educational backgrounds, including engineering, economics, the natural sciences, mathematics and statistics, and operations research. Many also possess several years of professional experience in the process and manufacturing industries they support.
Client Collaboration
The key piece of this puzzle is engagement and collaboration with clients. While we have years of experience studying projects, hearing directly from active industry representatives about the biggest challenges facing projects, organizations, or industry is essential to extracting key insights that can help you today. Without this dialogue we will be less effective in connecting your needs with our capabilities. We fully appreciate the challenges you face, and we want you to benefit from our experience and capability in providing data driven solutions.
Hopefully, this summary gives you not only a better sense of the information at our disposal but also of the importance of our interactions with you, our clients. Our research and analysis are best when they directly connect with the issues you face. So let us know what your biggest obstacles are and we’ll work together to create solutions.
To learn more about IPA’s Projects Research Division, visit our Reserach page.