New Forms of Procurement ─ PPP and Relational Contracting in the 21st Century

The last three decades have seen the evolution of Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) and Relationship Contracting (RC) as alternative procurement approaches to traditional methods of delivering public infrastructure. The potential for growth in these new forms of procurement has led to an on-going debate on the nature of requirements, particularly in terms of value for money. The need to demonstrate adding value to all stakeholders has often contributed to demanding bid requirements that ultimately make it unsustainable to maintain an industry around the likes of PPP contracts, where the overall costs of bidding exceed the net returns to the industry.

This wide-ranging study of such crucial procurement issues includes international historical context, collaboration and risk management, with a focus on sustainable procurement approaches. The international significance of PPPs and RC procurement approaches is reinforced with case study examples from the UK, Europe, North America, South Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions. It features cutting-edge research from around the world on subjects such as:

• Project Alliancing

• Implementation of RC in developing countries

• Changes in procurement policy

• Growth and emergence of PPPs in Asia

• Community-based procurement

• Visualisation of the construction management processes

Including contributions from some of the world's most prominent academics in this field, it is a crucial guide to the strategic choices governments now face for the provision of infrastructure, between using ‘public’ or ‘private’ mechanisms, or a combination of the two.

Marcus Jefferies is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle, Australia.

Steve Rowlinson is a Professor in the Department of Real Estate and Construction at the University of Hong Kong, China.