Boes, H and Dorée, A (2008) Public procurement of local authorities in the Netherlands: A case of breaking tradition for a more strategic approach? In: Dainty, A (ed.) Proceedings of 24th Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2008, Cardiff, UK.
Abstract
The use of integrated contracts / innovative procurement has been a subject of debate and research in the Netherlands for the last decade and has subsequently resulted in a large research programme investigating the reform of the construction industry. At the end of the 1990s an "Innovative Procurement" (IP) programme was implemented to increase the use of integrated contract forms. This programme was adopted by the state agencies Rijkswaterstaat, ProRail and the Rijksgebouwendienst. For these organisations integrated contracts are the staring point for their procurement strategy and implementation. However, local authorities appear cautious to change their traditional tendering policy towards a more strategic outsourcing policy. Several studies have been conducted, targeting/investigating changes to procurement policy over time within municipalities. The results of studies so far relating to the use of different contract forms and barriers for implementation by local authorities will be presented. The results show little change in policy and implementation during the last decade. Currently only a few local authorities are moving away from traditional procurement methods to using a more strategic outsourcing approach. The majority appear to be using more integrated contract forms in an experimental/incidental way but not strategically. Also, despite experiencing various problems with traditional contract forms, the aspiration to change policy and implementation is absent. The responsible managers therefore choose a cautious and habitual approach. Yet, there is some positive movement. Due to - national - pressure on local authorities, they seem to be open to a more strategic outsourcing and tendering policy. The evaluation and discussion subsequently focuses on how a more strategic approach can be implemented given the influence of the different decision makers.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | contracts; local authorities; outsourcing; policy; procurement |
| Index terms: | Netherlands, local authority, traditional procurement, programme, procurement strategy, manager, procurement policy, movement, outsourcing, construction industry, implementation, agency, municipality, integrated contract |
| Subjects: | administrative law, industry analysis, sociology, project controls, Geography, contractual arrangements, public policy, practitioner, health behaviours and lifestyles, business |
| Topics: | Time Control, Legal Issues, Stakeholder Management, Roles and Professions, Procurement, Governance, Geographical Context, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here