New research from NEC Contracts suggests the construction sector knows what better collaboration looks like, but has not yet turned that awareness into routine practice. In a global study of more than 1,000 built environment professionals in the UK, Australia, Peru, Singapore and Hong Kong, the company found that respondents believed only 58% of projects in the past three years had been completed on time and on budget, with poor estimating, scope changes and late payment repeatedly id...
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entified as major sources of pressure. (
neccontract.com)
The report, published on 30 April 2026, paints supply chain tension as a structural feature of the industry rather than an occasional failure. NEC said 61% of respondents viewed built environment projects as inherently adversarial, while 68% said commercial and contractual demands made delivery harder and 75% believed weak supply chain relationships threatened business continuity. The Institution of Civil Engineers, which highlighted the findings in mid-May, said the results point to the need for structural fixes rather than goodwill alone. (neccontract.com)
Even so, attitudes towards trust were strongly positive. NEC found that 83% of respondents said trust between parties was critical to successful outcomes, 81% said greater collaboration helps issues get resolved more quickly, and 78% said the best supply chain relationships are built on trust and cooperation. Asked what most helps reduce disputes, respondents most often pointed to communication, clear roles and processes agreed at the outset, trusted relationships and contracts that support transparency and risk-sharing. (neccontract.com)
The sharpest divide in the research was between support for collaborative contracting and its actual use. Among respondents familiar with such contracts, 79% were positive about wider adoption, but fewer than one in eight said they actively pushed for it. NEC said 76% believed collaborative contracting protects businesses, 74% said it improves delivery timescales and 71% said it reduces disputes and poor risk allocation. Yet adoption remains patchy: in the UK, 20% had never heard of collaborative contracts and only 27% had worked on a project using them, while client specification remained the main driver of contract choice. Rekha Thawrani, global director at NEC Contracts, said the industry already understands what works, but needs clients to take the lead in changing practice. (neccontract.com)
The findings echo wider academic work on construction supply chains. Research published by UCL has argued that trust in construction is difficult to build because projects are temporary and often judged through a short-term lens, yet long-term trust-based relationships can improve communication, service value and performance. (discovery.ucl.ac.uk)
Source: Noah Wire Services
