From Contract to Contact; better understanding

On November 6 next, Water Board Scheldestromen is organizing another market day. Now for the fourth time. Both the invited market parties and the water board have had positive experiences. Wies Vonck, secretary-director of the Scheldestromen Water Board: "The biggest gain is that we are in conversation. That is to the advantage of both parties. By engaging in dialogue at the front, you gain an understanding of each other's' interests and the will is created to solve any problems in a constructive way."

History

In 2016, the Market Vision of Water Boards was drafted. The reason for this was that cooperation between client and contractor was not always smooth. The target group consisted mainly of parties from the construction and ground, road and hydraulic engineering sectors. Parties with which the water boards often do business. For the market it is important to know what is going on with the client. On the other hand, it is important for government parties to gain insight into the opportunities offered by the market. And those are great according to John de Jonge of the Zeeland Asphalt Company and Hans de Nooijer, Sr. project leader at the water board.

Investing in each other

"The market day concept is a growth model. It forms the basis for building a good relationship between client and contractor," De Nooijer said. "If clients minutely record and want to control everything in the tendering process, a kind of false security is created. Because mistrust is often at the root of problems during a project. In order to break through this, the southern water boards, together with market parties, drew up the Market Vision. This was followed by the water boards jointly organizing a market day. That was in Tilburg. Waterschap Scheldestromen decided to continue this initiative and it worked out well."

John: "Through the market day, you really get to know each other. It is an investment in a lasting relationship between client and contractor. This relationship is inherently unequal because who pays determines. But you can level the playing field."

As a follow-up, so-called "taster days" were organized. An employee of the water board spent a day with a market party and vice versa. Hans: "This was an opportunity for me and my colleagues to get to know the various providers personally. You can then discuss considerations in tenders with an open mind and ask critical questions. I gained more insight into what is going on at a company from the moment they decide to bid for a tender." John adds that better relationships help build trust. "When you are more at ease, you dare to be more critical of each other. That creates more understanding."

Hans: "You learn what is possible. The water board has to learn to relinquish some control. Commercial parties are much more innovative than we think. Giving them space and trust creates something beautiful and shared ownership for the outcome of a project. Both parties aim to make something beautiful!"

Opportunities

Are there still opportunities? "Yes," replies Wies Vonck. "It would be crazy if there weren't. We can learn a lot from each other, and that discovery process has just begun. As a government, the water board does risk management. After all, it's tax money. The market is more businesslike. That's where the water board can learn something."

Together with the market, various learning and improvement points were identified. Varying from very concrete points, such as the minimum time between Nota van Inlichtingen and the submission of the tender, to showing more courage as a principal by seeking out the edges in tenders. Both parties also believe they can learn a lot from each other in the area of security. The key concept is trust. Both Hans and John believe that there are still gains to be made here.

The walk-in days are unique and lead to deepening of existing relationships. A total of 11 couples attended. This is also the opinion of the sector organization Bouwend Nederland. Dennis Mollet: "Bouwend Nederland applauds this initiative. It is essential that water boards and builders continue to delve into each other's world so that we continue to understand each other. Scheldestromen provides a good example of how to do that. Water boards are fine clients and also dare to enter into other forms of cooperation. For example, two-phase contracts, working in construction teams and alliances."

As far as Bouwend Nederland is concerned, the other water boards and government parties will follow suit and there will certainly be a sequel. "The important thing now is to build on the contacts and use the knowledge and evaluation results gained. The evaluation in particular was valuable. The improvement points mentioned are not unique and run like a thread through the cooperation between market and government parties. Waterboard Scheldestromen was the first to take the initiative in naming them, together with the regional market parties."

New parties will also be invited to the market day next November 6. This will not only deepen existing contacts, but also broaden them. Herein lies a solid foundation for a good relationship between government and market that is well applicable to other water boards.

Interested parties are welcome to attend the market day on Nov. 6. Registration can be done through https://scheldestromen.nl/marktdag. More information about the Market Vision can be found at https://scheldestromen.nl/inkoop.