The development of a typology and guideline for selecting innovation-encouraging procurement strategies in civil engineering

Abstract

Stimulating innovation through public procurement can lead to improved performance, contribute to organizational and policy goals, but can also play a key role in addressing societal challenges that cannot be adequately addressed by conventional solutions. A significant amount of research has been carried out on stimulating innovation through the public procurement of goods and services. However, there is still a lack of knowledge on which procurement strategies and tendering methods can be effectively used to encourage specific types of innovation within larger public initiatives such as civil engineering projects and programmes. The aim of this study is therefore to provide a coherent overview of innovation-encouraging procurement strategies and tendering methods, and to relate their potential effective use to the technology readiness of the targeted innovations, the required level of cooperation between public client and contractor and the willingness of public clients to bear innovation risks, and to provide incentives, budget and solution space for these innovations. Based on a literature review and a multiple case study, an innovation-encouraging procurement typology is developed. In addition, a guideline is provided that can be used by public clients to select an appropriate procurement strategy for their innovation projects and programmes.