Criteria in consultant selection: Public procurement of architectural and engineering services

The competence, commitment and attitudes of design consultants strongly influence the quality and costs of built facilities. However, in the selection of professional services it is often difficult to specify and assess non-price criteria related to both firms and individual consultants. Therefore, clients traditionally rely on long term relations or recommendations from clients or colleagues. Public procurement regulation, however, restricts the use of such informal data. This study looks at existing purchasing practices in this context of conflicting demands. An explorative questionnaire survey distributed to Swedish municipalities investigated which selection criteria and information sources that are used and perceived difficulties and shortcomings related to consultancy procurement. Results show a high focus on price or more easily measured non-price criteria, while criteria related to design and execution of projects were less common. Furthermore, personal information sources are widely used, indicating a conflict between procurement practice and existing regulation. Thus, the survey identifies several areas where practice could be developed to improve design quality in municipal projects. Unexpectedly, municipal officials were generally satisfied with their procurement practice, especially managers, and officials with more procurement experience. Satisfaction also appears to be connected to the existence of a procurement policy and more advanced selection methods.