Title: Procuring complex projects using the competitive dialogue

Authors: Mieke Hoezen; Hans Voordijk; Geert Dewulf

Addresses: Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management, Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, P.O. Box 20000, 3502 LA Utrecht, The Netherlands ' Construction Management and Engineering, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands ' Construction Management and Engineering, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

Abstract: For the procurement of complex projects, the European Commission (EC) has developed the competitive dialogue (CD) procedure. The major question is: to what extent does the CD procedure in practice sort the effects which are expected ahead? The objectives of the EC in designing the CD procedure are put alongside the expectations of experts, and compared with the actual practice of using this procedure in construction projects. Expectations of experts have largely been confirmed by the practices in 16 CD-procured construction projects. Actual effects of the CD in practice are less positive when compared with the objectives of the EC when designing this procedure.

Keywords: procurement; contractor selection; construction projects; side effects; expectations; complex projects; competitive dialogue; European Commission; project management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPOM.2014.066412

International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 2014 Vol.6 No.4, pp.319 - 335

Received: 08 Mar 2011
Accepted: 05 Dec 2011
Published online: 14 Jan 2015 *

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