Construction Procurement Guidelines Published

The Construction Sector Accord has published new guidance to support government buyers and industry suppliers in applying broader outcomes in construction procurement.

Broader outcomes are the additional benefits that can be achieved by the way a service, project or goods are produced or delivered. These outcomes can be social, environmental, cultural or economic benefits that deliver long-term public value for New Zealand.

The guides will help buyers and suppliers better understand what broader outcomes are, why they are important, how to embed them into government procurement and tender documents, and what impact they have on tender evaluation. The Accord is proud to publish the first version of the guidance and looks forward to working with the sector to regularly update the guides to support the needs of the construction industry.

Read the guides and learn more about broader outcomes.

In October 2018, the Government recognised that its procurement activities offer a unique opportunity to achieve broader cultural, economic, environmental and social outcomes for Aotearoa New Zealand. These outcomes are incorporated into the Government Procurement Rules(external link).

The construction sector alone contributed $17 billion to the country’s GDP in 2020 and employs more than 200,000 New Zealanders. Alison Murray, Director of Construction Procurement Transformation for the Construction Sector Accord, says there are significant opportunities in the sector that go beyond constructing new works.

“The workforce needs 76,000 more staff, construction waste contributes to 50% of what is sent to landfill each year and less than 18% of the construction-related workforce are women,” says Murray.

“By embedding broader outcomes into construction projects, these opportunities in our sector can help create a higher performing industry for a better New Zealand.”

Government agencies and construction companies across the country are already making broader outcomes a key part of their projects.

Whangarei District Council and its construction partner, Canam, embedded broader outcomes at the outset of the Council’s Civic Centre project. The $48 million project was recently announced as a Beacons Case Study due to its innovative procurement approach that promotes community objectives, including the use of local companies and training opportunities for the region’s workforce.

Read the Canam and Whangarei District Council’s Beacons case study.

As a result of this approach, 200 jobs have been created in the region for the project – 80% of those are in the local area, 25% are apprentices and trainees, and 20% of the workers on site are female.

“Through our Beacons programme we’re seeing many agencies and businesses making a huge difference to our sector by embedding broader outcomes into their projects,” says Murray. “We hope this guidance helps others across the construction industry better understand these outcomes and do the same.”

Read the guides and learn more about broader outcomes.

The guides will be updated regularly to support the needs of the construction sector.

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