Course overview

Construction Procurement and Contract Strategy is for client-side teams making decisions about how a project will be procured and delivered. It focuses on the choice of delivery model, allocation of responsibilities and preparation needed before the market is approached.

Participants consider the maturity of the scope and design, programme constraints, market capability and the client’s own resources. They examine how these factors affect packaging, pricing arrangements, risk allocation and the administration effort required after award.

Working with a project brief, participants compare procurement options and prepare a reasoned recommendation. They identify the information still needed, the approvals required and the arrangements needed to make the selected approach work. Detailed review of individual contract clauses and day-to-day subcontract administration are covered separately.

What the course covers

Topics include:

Understanding the project requirements

Establishing objectives, constraints and available information
Assessing scope and design maturity
Considering market capability and packaging opportunities
Testing the client’s decision-making and administration capacity

Comparing delivery and pricing arrangements

Allocating design, construction and coordination responsibilities
Comparing lump sum, measured, target and reimbursable approaches
Considering programme, interface and supply-chain implications
Explaining the trade-offs and residual risks of each option

Preparing the procurement approach

Defining the proposed packages and tender information
Selecting evaluation criteria appropriate to the project
Planning clarification, negotiation and approval stages
Checking that procurement procedures match the organisation’s requirements

Preparing for award and delivery

Documenting the recommendation and its assumptions
Allocating retained risks and outstanding decisions
Setting up roles, authority and administration resources
Handing the agreed strategy and obligations to the delivery team

For the checks needed before accepting the proposed contract terms, read Reviewing Construction Contracts Before You Sign.

Course delivery

Training is delivered face-to-face, in-house, for organisations in Australia and New Zealand. The course runs over one day, with dates agreed before delivery.

This course is intended for participants with experience of project delivery, procurement or commercial management. It assumes familiarity with the main stages of a construction project.

The workshop uses an agreed project type and the organisation’s procurement context. Australian and New Zealand examples are tailored separately. It is not a comprehensive course in every public-sector procurement policy or approval framework.