A Comparison of Competitive Dialogue and Best Value Procurement

Abstract

Competitive Dialogue (CD) and Best Value Procurement (BVP) are two different approaches to early contractor involvement (ECI) in public projects. However, it is not clear which approach is best suited for what kind of project situations, and which is better for implementing lean in public procurement. The purpose of this paper is to explore the similarities and differences of these approaches to develop recommendations for how to match approach with project situations. In addition to literature study, two large infrastructure projects were studied through 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews and review of documents. The findings from this study indicate that the two approaches have several similarities; e.g., both give a better result when they are used together with a design-build contract than design-bid-build contract, and they give clients possibilities to meet suppliers and clarify projects before contract signing. However, they also have a number of differences such as the number of competitors that develop a project and a supplier selection premises varies. The study concludes that BVP is a more effective procurement process than CD as regards procurement phase. However, CD gives more room for the clients to influence supplier solutions than BVP.