The enthusiastic contributions of the industry to the development of new Project Partnering Contract (PPC) - Alliance Contracts reveals not only the need for new contract forms but also the desire to build collaborative relationships. It is this point that will be advocated today by PPC’s author Professor David Mosey of King’s College London’s centre of construction law and dispute resolution.

Mosey will be speaking at the Back To The Future, PPC/TPC Annual Conference, where consultations on current drafts of the new PPC Alliance Contracts will take a centre stage.

These new drafts account for BIM, collaboration and multiparty contracts as well as providing a dynamic two stage form, setting out core governance structures as well as enabling viable use with other common standard forms, such as FIDIC” - David Mosey

In the draft and consultation stage, Mosey has incorporated detailed consultations from over 140 organisations in 14 jurisdictions, as well as best practices seen within the Two Stage Open Book Trial Projects. As a joint venture between Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) and Association of Consultant Architects (ACA), efforts have been made to ensure that these consultations are given great weight in the shaping of the new form contracts, with the correct balance maintained between contract simplicity and coverage of current realities.

“This year’s conference marks the 15th year anniversary of the PPC and the 10th anniversary of TPC. As such, it presents a great opportunity for those thought leaders in the area to brainstorm on best practices within current conditions as well as upcoming industry needs.”

Professor Mosey, who originally drafted PPC 2000, has been working closely with the UK government on Trial Projects to analyse the savings and other benefits of the Two Stage Open Book procurement and delivery processes. This substantial personal understanding of industry hurdles along with the numerous consultations have provided the reasons behind the continued refinements and advocacy of the upcoming PPC Alliance Contracts

“While some will always ask why standard forms of contract should be revised, the nature of the industry has changed so that existing forms do not fully account for elements such as BIM, collaboration, or multiparty contracts which are increasingly present in the industry. These new drafts account for these as well as providing a dynamic two stage form, setting out core governance structures as well as enabling viable use with other common standard forms, such as FIDIC.”

Since the creation of the Project Partnering Contract 2000, the use of PPC and its associated Term Partnering Contract 2005 have risen drastically, with a boost from the 2012 Government recommendation for use on central and local government construction schemes as a form of early contractor involvement. In the history of PPC, there is not a true project applicability limit, but rather that this form is most beneficial when utilised for a situation in which the client wishes to be an active participant.

“By the nature of PPC, it is easiest to see the benefits in those situations in which clients have an active interest in building the relationship. PPC benefits encourage a collaborative relationship throughout the supply chain, enabling access to innovations and efficient processes. The consultation conducted to date has been largely positive, and the majority of those consulted are strong advocates of this new collaborative approach to contracts.”

The new PPC Alliance Contracts are projected to be ready for launch in early 2016, after the stage of broad consultations across the industry has been completed. With the success of PPC 2000, the new PPC is anticipated to have a warm reception across the industry as an answer to a standard form need that existing contracts do not address.