Commissioning within Public Organisations

The chair of Public Commissioning in Construction aims to professionalise the field of ‘commissioning’ in the public sector by improving the general understanding of construction clients and their role and domain of work in asset management; identifying the key capabilities of those clients and their organisations; generating supportive knowledge and tools for this target group.

The research focusses on:

• Public values. Public organisations are required to comply with and safeguard a number of public values, performance related as well as process related. We explore what public values should be ensured by public client organisations operating in the built environment, how the safeguarding of public values can be assured in the client organization and how public construction clients can safeguard public values in the process of public service delivery.
• Organisational structures. Different aspects influence the approach to commissioning and the professionalism required of the client and its organisation. Through various studies, we want to gain insight into how the commissioning role is embedded in organisations. In addition, we conduct a sector-wide study of learning practices, and their embedding in the practice of (semi)public clients.
• Collaboration with market parties. This research focuses on investigating changing relationships between clients and contractors in construction and infrastructure. The research examines assessment frameworks, the control mechanisms used, success and failure factors and the way in which (new) forms of collaboration are embedded in and between the organisations involved.