The big challenge is not that the industry lacks the will. The big challenge is that far too few can put into words what a strategic partnership actually requires. That makes it hard to work purposefully with the format. But the first experiences have already been gained. There are collaborations, lessons and data that are valuable to build on.
Until now, strategic partnerships in the construction industry have looked strikingly like framework agreements for turnkey contracts. The focus has been on protecting one’s own position, without regard for what creates the best conditions for the project to succeed as a whole.
A strategic partnership must be able to do more than that. It must create something the parties could not create on their own. That requires the relevant players to be involved early and to make clear together: What is the shared purpose – right here? If a party is brought in too late, it is quickly felt – all the way down the value chain.
But that is precisely what requires trust, because it is also necessary to talk openly about KPIs, incentives and interests. Not because everything can be made shared, but because a partnership only moves forward when it is clear what the parties want to achieve and what they are willing to invest to get there. After all, the most important goal is not the same from project to project.
If a kindergarten has to be ready for 100 children in six months, new standards for sustainable building materials are hardly what carries the most weight. Here, time is probably what drives the project. That is why the starting point must always be the purpose of the project, not a standard model. That also applies to the contract.
A good contract in a strategic partnership must balance legal certainty, functionality and user-friendliness. But the gain does not come free. User-friendliness in particular is often given low priority. We therefore risk contracts becoming so heavy that they are difficult to work with in practice.
And then they lose some of what they were supposed to support, namely: progress, shared direction and a collaboration that can hold up when the project gets difficult.
