New research from NEC Contracts suggests the built environment still talks a good game on collaboration, but too often falls back on familiar contractual habits.
According to the study, titled “Trust, Contracts and Outcomes: A Global Study of Construction Supply Chain Relationships”, more than four-fifths of industry professionals said collaboration is important to successful project delivery. Even so, around 70% still rely on traditional contract frameworks, unders...
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coring a gap between principle and practice.
The research drew on the views of more than 1,000 professionals across the UK, Australia, Peru, Singapore and Hong Kong. It found that 83% of respondents agreed trust is critical to good outcomes, yet 61% said supply chain relationships remained adversarial. That tension runs through the report: while many professionals appear convinced that a more collaborative model would improve delivery, the sector continues to work largely within structures that preserve distance rather than partnership.
Among respondents who were familiar with collaborative contracts, more than 70% said these arrangements helped protect businesses, improved timescales and reduced legal disputes. NEC’s wider findings also suggest strong support in principle, with 79% of those familiar with collaborative contracts saying broader use would be positive. But adoption remains limited, with only 27% of respondents having worked on projects using collaborative methods, and fewer than one in eight actively pushing for them.
Rekha Thawrani, global director at NEC Contracts, said the findings reflect what many advocates of collaborative contracting have long argued: that the industry understands the value of better relationships, but has not yet built a consistent route to achieving them. She added that the evidence in the report shows a clear link between collaborative contracts and improved outcomes, and said the appetite for change exists.
That message matters because construction is often shaped by complexity, shifting interfaces and pressure on time and cost. Research published in academic journals has long suggested that traditional project management approaches can struggle in such environments, while collaboration can improve efficiency, communication, innovation and delivery. At the same time, those studies also caution that collaboration is not a cure-all: trust has to be built and maintained, especially over long projects involving multiple organisations.
NEC Contracts said the findings come as the sector faces renewed pressure to improve delivery and relationships across supply chains. To that end, Thomas Telford’s NEC Digital platform was launched in late 2025 as an online drafting and tendering tool designed to offer a more collaborative alternative to conventional contracting.
Thawrani said clients would need to take the lead if the industry is to move decisively away from adversarial norms. The research suggests many professionals already accept the argument. The harder task is turning that shared recognition into routine practice.
Source: Noah Wire Services
