UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF NOVATION: A CONTRACTOR'S PERSPECTIVE

Design and Build is an increasingly popular form of procurement, which can be characterized by its integrated approach between design and construction. Novation is one variant of design and build, which has received various general research over the years. This paper directs its focus onto understanding design and build through the use of a grounded theory methodology, employing semi-structured interviews of contractors. This qualitative methodology relies on the cyclical interplay of literature with the data collection method. Both pre and post-contract areas of novation are discussed. The main findings revolve around six central themes. These being: Contractor information requests to the architect which are not fully answered by architects owing to lack of time, contractor retaining commercial edge, contractor value engineering exercises being curtailed, contractor’s inexperience of novated designer affecting risk and tender price, advantages – learning curve, disadvantage – architect conflict of interest. Novated design and build is believed to be generally disadvantageous by contractors. This is owing to the fact that the contractor has no choice in appointing the novated architect. This results in fragmentation in what is intended as an integrated procurement route. We argue that clients should take a balanced view prior to opting to use novation.