01. The Challenge
In 2021, the National Projects Office of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs of the UAE, contracted Ikosaeder to oversee the preparation and Operational Readiness of the UAE Pavilion at EXPO2020 Dubai. As the focal point of EXPO2020 Dubai, the Pavilion was bound to attract a great deal of attention and therefore the reputational stakes of the project were very high.
Due to the onset of the pandemic, the organisers faced a series of challenges: delayed construction resulted in late recruitment, relocation of staff and familiarisation with venue operations, all of which impacted the Readiness programme which was already under very tight timelines and scheduled to be delivered one month before the Opening. When Ikosaeder began working on the project, no Readiness activities had been conducted. Pavilion staff consisted mainly of experienced professionals with event background, so there was confidence around their capability to manage operations, but less so around the integration between functional areas, as well as integration with EXPO2020 Dubai and key Delivery partners.
The objectives Ikosaeder set out for the Readiness programme included: enhancing working relationships across the organisation and building up situational awareness and issue resolution capabilities; enhancing the understanding of cross functional responsibilities and C3 communication flows; leveraging mutual commitment to integrate processes between the UAE Pavilion and EXPO2020 Dubai Delivery partners; and building teams’ confidence ahead of event operations.