Even once a consultant team has been appointed, an inexperienced client may feel that there are a lot of vested interests and that there is no way of independently verifying what they are told or of properly assessing options that are proposed.
Appointing an independent adviser can be invaluable in helping guide the client during the early stages and then protecting their interests once a consultant team and contractor have been appointed.
This can be particularly important on design and build projects, or on public projects (where the government recommends the appointment of a single integrated supply team) as the client may have limited access to the design consultants. As a consequence, the government recommends that the client appoints Independent Client Advisers (ICA) to provide high-level expert advice and help protect their interests.
This is different to the role of the ‘project manager’, who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the project, or the role of ‘client representative’ responsible for managing the project on behalf of the client as if they are the client.
