Procurement innovation as a vehicle for sustainable change – a case study of the Danish model of strategic partnerships

Purpose: Efficient and effective knowledge transfer is important in complex building renovation projects. The addition of sustainability requirements in building renovation adds complexity. This paper investigates the development of innovative public procurement schemes to support sustainable building renovation projects. These blueprints for procurement innovation can support similar efforts in other countries.

Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on a longitudinal case study using interviews with primary stakeholders and workshops with industry practitioners to supplement the analysis of public tender documents from the Danish public building clients.

Findings: The key tenants of the Danish model for strategic partnerships are a single strategic partner, systematic conflict resolution, framework agreements, risk management, and joint educational programs. Three phases in the development of the procurement scheme are identified; experiment, definition and replication.

Originality: Strategic partnerships and other types of relational contract schemes are not very prevalent in most countries. How these contracts are developed and defined is not well understood. This paper shows how one such contracting scheme is developed, how it is defined and replicated.