Structure successful IPD agreements with proven frameworks from 150 projects
Complex capital projects demand collaborative contracts that align stakeholders and reduce adversarial risk. Contracting for Integrated Project Delivery: Structuring Collaborative Projects for Global Success provides a step-by-step framework for developing, negotiating, and executing IPD agreements. Written by HOWARD W. Ashcraft, who has structured over 150 IPD projects, this guide offers practical legal strategies grounded in decades of real-world implementation.
The book details multilateral contracting processes, legal structures, and project alignment strategies that differentiate IPD from traditional delivery models. Readers gain customizable agreement structures, annotated examples, and tools for managing collaboration, shared risk, and incentive alignment. International guest chapters provide global perspectives on IPD adoption, addressing regional variations in implementation and regulatory frameworks.
You’ll also discover:
- Practical guidance on structuring multiparty contracts that support alignment, transparency, and joint decision-making throughout the project lifecycle
- Detailed explanations of how IPD differs from design-bid-build and other traditional delivery methods in managing risk and collaboration
- Customizable templates and annotated examples drawn from more than 150 successfully completed IPD projects across multiple sectors
- Strategies for negotiating shared incentives, managing liability, and ensuring owner, designer, and builder interests remain aligned throughout delivery
- International perspectives from global experts addressing regional IPD implementation challenges and regulatory considerations in different jurisdictions
Designed for owners, designers, builders, consultants, lenders, insurers, and legal advisors engaged in IPD projects, this book provides the detailed strategies and practical tools needed to structure collaborative contracts that drive successful project outcomes from negotiation through delivery.
Table of Contents:
About the Author x
Contributing Authors xi
List of Contributors xiv
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xvi
PART 1 Preparing for IPD 1
CHAPTER 1 What Is IPD? 3
1.1 Introduction 4
1.2 Business Model 5
1.3 Contract Structure 7
1.4 Enabling Behaviors 9
1.5 IPD and Other Collaborative Project Delivery Methods 11
1.6 IPD or IPD'ish? 12
CHAPTER 2 Is IPD Right for My Project, Organization, and IPD Team? 15
2.1 Overview 16
2.2 Choosing a Project Delivery System 16
2.3 Is IPD Right for My Project? 17
2.4 Is IPD Right for My Organization? 19
2.5 Is IPD Right for the Team? 21
CHAPTER 3 Preparing and Training the Owner 23
3.1 Introduction 23
3.2 Preparatory Work: Engaging the Owner 24
3.3 Owner Training 26
CHAPTER 4 Developing the Contract Structure 29
4.1 Introduction 29
4.2 Form or Custom Contracts? 30
4.3 Contract Options 31
CHAPTER 5 Procuring and Engaging the IPD Teamside 35
5.1 Outreach 35
5.2 Procuring the Team 36
5.3 IPD Procurement Process 37
CHAPTER 6 The IPD Contracting Process 43
6.1 Contracting Process 43
PART 2 Negotiating the IPD Contract 47
CHAPTER 7 Changing the Mindset 49
7.1 Changing the Mindset: The IPD Business and Legal Model 50
7.2 Changing the Mindset: Multiparty Agreements 51
7.3 Changing the Mindset: A Language Action Perspective 52
7.4 Changing the Mindset: Project Success Instead of Damage Control 53
CHAPTER 8 Negotiating a Multiparty Agreement 55
8.1 Multiparty Negotiation Principles 56
8.2 Current Multiparty Negotiation Flow and Processes 58
8.3 Commercial Negotiations 60
8.4 Insurance 61
PART 3 The IPD Contract in Detail 63
CHAPTER 9 The Relationship of the IPD Parties 67
9.1 Project or Program? 68
9.2 Polyparty (Many Parties) or Multiparty (3 Parties)? 68
CHAPTER 10 IPD Governance 71
10.1 Overview 71
10.2 Voting Systems 73
10.3 Project Neutrals 76
CHAPTER 11 IPD Compensation 77
11.1 Compensation Principles 77
11.2 Incentives and Risk/Reward 83
CHAPTER 12 Target Setting and Gates 89
12.1 Overview 90
12.2 Two Target Systems 90
12.3 Early Profit Setting, Later Target Cost Setting 91
12.4 Phase/Gate Systems 92
12.5 Qualitative Assessment Systems 93
12.6 Incentive Caps 93
12.7 Incentive Lessons Learned 93
CHAPTER 13 Changes and Escalation 95
13.1 Changes Overview 95
13.2 Change Management Processes 96
CHAPTER 14 Risk Management 105
14.1 Introduction 106
14.2 Commercial Risk Management 106
14.3 Validation 106
14.4 Legal Risk Management 110
CHAPTER 15 Insurance and Bonding 117
15.1 Overview 117
15.2 Level 1: Smaller, Simpler Projects 118
15.3 Level 2: Moderately Large and Complex Projects 119
15.4 Level 3: Comprehensive Insurance Programs 119
15.5 Bonding 120
CHAPTER 16 Common Issues from a Collaborative Perspective 123
16.1 Warranty 123
16.2 Intellectual Property 124
16.3 Confidential Information 127
PART 4 IPD (and Alliances) Globally 143
CHAPTER 17 Australia and New Zealand 145
17.1 Overview 146
17.2 What is Alliancing in the Australian/NZ Context? 147
17.3 What are Alliancing's Advantages and Constraints, and Where/When to Use this Approach? 153
17.4 Where is the Evolution of Alliancing Going? 154
17.5 Concluding Comments 156
CHAPTER 18 Integrated Project Delivery in Canada 157
18.1 Canadian IPD: Setting the Stage 158
18.2 Alliance: An Early Collaborative Contract Influence 160
18.3 Primary IPD Canadian Influencers 161
18.4 Catalysts to IPD Adoption 162
18.5 Canadian IPD Differences 163
18.6 Canadian Firsts in IPD 165
18.7 The Future of Canadian IPD 166
CHAPTER 19 Integrated Project Delivery/Alliancing in Finland 169
19.1 Overview 170
19.2 What is an Alliance in Finland? 171
19.3 The History of the Finnish Alliance Model 174
19.4 The Current Status of Alliancing/IPD in Finland 177
19.5 A Brief Overview of Estonia's Alliance Projects 179
19.6 Benefits and Challenges of the Alliance Model 180
19.7 Where are Alliance Models and the Construction Industry Headed? 181
CHAPTER 20 Integrated Project Delivery (IPA) in Germany, With a View to Switzerland and Austria 183
20.1 Introduction: IPA in Germany and D-A-CH Context 184
20.2 History 185
20.3 IPA Projects in Germany 186
20.4 Public-sector Focus and Procurement Law 187
20.5 Characteristics and Contractual Terms 188
20.6 The Future of IPA in Germany 191
20.7 Austria 192
20.8 Switzerland 192
20.9 Summary 194
CHAPTER 21 Collaborative Project Delivery in South America: Peru, Chile, Brazil, and Colombia 195
21.1 Introduction: Context and Motivation for Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) in South America 196
21.2 Country-level Trajectories of IPD Development in South America 200
21.3 Case Studies and Field Evidence of Collaborative Delivery 204
21.4 Cultural, Legal, and Institutional Enablers and Barriers to IPD in South America 219
21.5 Bridging Digital Transformation and Contractual Integration in South America 223
21.6 Toward a Regional Framework for IPD Implementation in South America 227
21.7 Overall Conclusion—Integrated Project Delivery in South America 233
CHAPTER 22 Collaborative and Relational Contracting in UK 237
22.1 Introduction 238
22.2 Early History of Project Alliancing in the 20th Century 239
22.3 Twenty-first Century Use 241
22.4 IPI/IBA (Integrated Project Insurance/Insurance Backed Alliancing) 242
22.5 Project 13 244
22.6 Concerns About Using IPD/PA in the UK 244
22.7 Current Position of IPD and Project Alliance Contracting in the UK 245
22.8 Why is the UK Reluctant to Use IPD and Project Alliances? 246
22.9 Conclusions and Recommendations 247
PART 5 Future Work: Improving IPD 261
CHAPTER 23 Future Considerations 263
23.1 Future Work: Communal vs. Individual Responsibility 263
23.2 Future Work: Phase-based Leadership Organization 267
23.3 Future Work: Aligning Compensation with Value 267
23.4 Future Work: Deepening the Supply Chain 270
23.5 Future Work: Artificial Intelligence 274
PART 6 Research and Theoretical Underpinnings 277
CHAPTER 24 IPD Performance 281
24.1 Summary of IPD Efficacy Research 283
24.2 Discussion 284
CHAPTER 25 Alliancing and IPD 289
25.1 Comparison of Alliancing and IPD 289
CHAPTER 26 Theoretical Underpinnings 291
26.1 Relational Contracting 292
26.2 The Power of Analogies 295
26.3 Common Pool Resources 296
26.4 Complexity 298
Part 6 - Appendix 302
Comments on IPD by Respondent Type 302
Glossary + Abbreviations 315
References 327
Index 345
About the Author :
HOWARD W. ASHCRAFT is a Partner at Hanson Bridgett LLP and Associate Fellow at Oxford’s Saïd Business School. A leading authority on Integrated Project Delivery, he has structured more than 150 IPD projects across North America and internationally. Ashcraft is a member of the National Academy of Construction, Fellow of the American and Canadian Colleges of Construction Law, and recipient of the Lean Construction Institute’s 2022 Pioneer Award for advancing collaborative project delivery.
