Developing Safety Capabilities in Integrated Project Delivery: Mobilising the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter explores the potential of Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework as an actionable theory in guiding safety capability development for Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). It does so through the dynamic formation of action situations that incentivize and nurture the desirable capabilities for collaborative practice. A worked example is presented to illustrate how the IAD framework works for this purpose. Following an in-depth review on IPD and safety literature, which defined a set of safety capabilities for IPD practice, the system designer set up initial IPD-oriented game rules which incentivized actors’ experiences that nurture such capabilities. The reflective analysis results highlight three key perspectives in mobilising the IAD framework for safety capabilities development: (1) an organic power division between top-down design and bottom-up development of institutions; (2) an inclusive project front-end that involves actors in problem-framing activities; and (3) capabilities development as a process of shifting logics. Practically, the results inform effective training and coaching of practitioners at the teambuilding stage of IPD projects to configure safety as an integral attribute of the project system. Theoretically, the research contributes to the development of institutional theories in the project management context.KeywordsIntegrated Project Delivery (IPD)Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) frameworkSafety capabilitiesInstitutional logic