A View on the Future of Consulting & Advisory: A Q&A with Professor Polycarp Sam Luke

In today’s market, clients are facing diverse, dynamic and competitive challenges. 

Whether addressing digitization, automation, climate change, decarbonization or aging infrastructure, organizations today must achieve more and scale faster while managing risk and cost.  

Our strategic consulting and advisory teams provide custom strategic solutions for clients worldwide, leveraging deep domain knowledge in strategy, business organization, data-driven insights and assets. With strategic partners like PA Consulting and Simetrica-Jacobs, we break down market and operational silos to deliver full life-cycle solutions.  

Through practitioners like Global Director of Consulting & Advisory Solutions, Professor Polycarp Sam Luke, we apply a systems-thinking approach to develop holistic, sustainable solutions that drive long-term resilience and success. In this Q&A, we connect with Polycarp Sam to explore emerging trends and opportunities in consulting and advisory services and how we’re helping clients achieve their goals in a rapidly evolving world.  

Tell us a bit about what a day in the life is like as Jacobs Global Director Strategic Consulting & Advisory Solutions, and what we offer to our clients in this area. 

As the global director of consulting & advisory solutions at Jacobs, my day is dynamic and multifaceted. I collaborate with a diverse team of global and local specialists across disciplines to develop innovative solutions to our client’s biggest challenges. My work involves strategic planning, thought leadership, client meetings and project reviews to ensure we deliver value and address pressing needs. We take a systems-thinking approach to provide holistic, sustainable solutions that maximize value and minimize risk. 

Beyond client solutions, I focus on growth strategies, innovation and value proposition development, capability development and deployment to enhance our offerings. I also work with local and global teams to develop strategic recruitment and resourcing plans, ensuring we have the right talent in place. Mentoring and talent development are key aspects of my role, as is succession planning to support a strong future leadership pipeline. Investing in our clients and people is at the heart of what makes Jacobs a great place to work. From a consulting and advisory perspective, my role is central to making that happen. 

How do we advise clients to think differently to respond to future challenges? 

We encourage clients to adopt a forward-thinking mindset by embracing innovation and leveraging data-driven insights for informed decision making. By applying systems thinking, we help them understand the interdependencies within their operations and the broader environment, enabling them to anticipate and adapt to future challenges more effectively. We also emphasize sustainability, guiding clients to integrate sustainable practices into their strategies to drive long-term resilience and success. 

Is there a project you’re particularly proud of? 

One standout project is our work with National Highways (NH) on the Strategic Road Network Renewals Investment Plan for Road Investment Strategy (RIS3), where I am the Project and Engagement Director. RIS3 outlines improvements in the strategic road network (SRN) for a five-year investment period, aiming to enhance road safety, capacity, quality and user experience. It also supports National Highways' goals of fostering economic growth and achieving net-zero road maintenance and construction by 2040. 

We reviewed various scenarios for maintaining NH’s assets in a safe, serviceable condition, exploring ways to collaborate and strengthen their ability to manage this work independently in the future. We introduced strategies to foster increased collaboration across NH teams, enhancing efficiency and outcomes.  

Our skilled team (made of staff from Jacobs, AtkinsRealis and ICS) — including asset management practitioners, data analysts, economists, subject matter experts and asset class specialists—has worked with NH on this commission since 2021.  

We developed a staged methodology to assess investment planning maturity at the project’s outset and created a plan for incremental improvement over time. Using a phased approach across 11 different asset classes, we strengthened the robustness of each asset class case in a structured way and engaged with internal stakeholders to enhance understanding and ensure alignment across the organization. By collaborating with representatives from each directorate, particularly asset champions from operations, well-integrated virtual teams (VTs) were established within NH. 

We conducted modeling and scenario analyses to inform the asset management plans and developed the link between activities and outcomes for road users and stakeholders. We also performed carbon accounting for asset class interventions and reviewed climate adaptation measures within the plan. Additionally, we assessed deliverability constraints and a comprehensive view of feasibility across the overall case.  

With NH only being in their second Road Period, they were a bit behind many other sectors in terms of modelling capability but wanted to make rapid improvements, which we have helped them achieve. This project exemplifies our commitment to collaboration, innovation and delivering tangible benefits for our clients.  

As an ongoing flagship project for NH, it demonstrates how a collaborative approach in a psychologically safe environment enables diverse teams—from different organizations, including client teams—to work seamlessly and achieve outstanding results. The project has won multiple external and internal awards over the last few years. 

Looking to the future, what are some of the biggest opportunities ahead for strategic consulting and advisory? 

The future presents immense opportunities for consulting and advisory services, particularly in systems thinking, asset management, sustainability, resilience and data-driven insights. As the world grows more complex, understanding and managing interdependencies within systems will be crucial.  

Sustainability will remain a major focus, with clients increasingly integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their strategies. Meanwhile, the expanding availability of data and advancements in analytics allows us to provide deeper insights and more precise recommendations, driving better decision-making and outcomes.  

Renewals, rather than enhancements, will take priority, requiring a full life-cycle asset management approach to deliver the right value and outcomes for the infrastructure assets. By staying at the forefront of these trends, we help clients navigate future challenges and achieve their strategic objectives in a safe, resilient and sustainable way.