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01. The aim of this short guide is to spread best practice among organisations responsible for the
procurement of public construction projects and to encourage effective competition.
02. This is significant because the public sector is a major player in the construction market – growing
by a third between 1999 and 2003, to an annual output of £33.5 billion. Capital investment by the
public sector is set to continue expanding over the next three years in key sectors, such as schools,
hospitals, roads and social housing1.
03. Efforts to achieve effective competition in the construction sector are now focusing in on
whole-life costs and value, plus long-term partnerships between the public and the private sector.
04. The competition challenge is to sustain what the National Audit Office (NAO) calls “competitive
tension”, while reaping the benefits of a partnership approach.
05. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) research on public procurement and competition2 and the
Office of Government Commerce's (OGC's) First Kelly Market3 project both identified a need to
raise awareness of the impact of public sector procurement policies on competition for
construction projects.
06. You should use this guide alongside the existing suite of OGC procurement guidance, particularly
the Achieving Excellence in Construction4 initiative and the OGC Successful Delivery Toolkit5.
07. This guide was prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, in collaboration with OFT and OGC,