About Us
Midlands Highway Alliance Plus (MHA+) is a partnership of 36 highway authorities from across the Midlands and beyond. We work together to deliver better value, share good practice and improve highway services for our members.
What we do today
MHA+ provides two frameworks: the Medium Schemes Framework and the Professional Services Partnership. Both meet key guidance, including the Procurement Act 2023 and the Construction Playbook, ensuring best practice and compliance for our members.
Our business plan and objectives are shaped by members and national policy, including the UK Infrastructure 10 Year Strategy and Constructing the Gold Standard.
Our work is delivered by a dedicated team. Find out more, including names and contact information.
Leicestershire County Council is our host authority, providing financial and procurement governance and support.
How we’re run
MHA+’s work is overseen by two boards, each with a distinct role in shaping and delivering the work of our alliance.
The Executive Board sets strategic direction and meets twice a year, with a representative from each member authority.
The Programme Board provides technical oversight of our workstreams and meets four times a year.
Find out more about MHA+ governance.
How we started
MHA+ was formed in July 2020 through the merger of three regional groups: the Midlands Highway Alliance, the Midlands Service Improvement Group and the West Midlands Highway Alliance. Each group had shared aims and complementary strengths, which made the merger a natural step.
Our history
Midlands Service Improvement Group (MSIG)
MSIG began in 1997 as the Midlands Regional Best Value Group, with 13 members, to focus on best value and performance management. It became MSIG in 2003 to better reflect its purpose: sharing good practice and improving services.
Today, MHA+’s service improvement work continues through 16 task groups, which meet regularly to discuss specific areas of highway and transport provision. Members can also access a dedicated site with reference documents, benchmarking data, presentations and real-time discussion boards for each topic area.
West Midlands Highway Alliance (WMHA)
WMHA was set up as an independent, local authority-led body. It originally had 14 member authorities and was created to speed up value and efficiency improvements across the region.
This work led to two professional services framework contracts:
- the WMHA Term Service Professional Services Contract, covering Worcestershire, and Telford and Wrekin
- the WMHA Professional Services Framework, covering Solihull, Warwickshire and Coventry
WMHA later reformed with 10 member authorities. It offered a networking environment, a monthly newsletter and a website for sharing resources.
Midlands Highway Alliance (MHA)
MHA was formed in 2007 with 10 members, growing to 24 by the time of the merger. The National Audit Office recognised MHA as an exemplar, and it became a template for similar alliances across the country.
MHA procured collaborative frameworks based on the New Engineering Contract (NEC) for designing and constructing major highway schemes, saving members around £4 million a year. It also developed platforms for information sharing and collaboration, along with a Learning Management System to help members get the most from the frameworks.
Get in touch
Contact us to find out more about MHA+ or to discuss becoming a member.