DBIA and its regions remain committed to advocating for design-build and overcoming state prohibitions on its use in the public sector. This commitment continues to pay dividends: The use of design-build has grown dramatically while state prohibitions continue to dwindle.
Ten years ago, over 25 states prohibited design-build in the public sector. Today, only two states maintain such restrictions. Design-build revenues have more than doubled, both domestically and internationally.
DBIA Executive Director Lisa Washington has made design-build advocacy a top priority, both at the state and federal level. “Where there are state prohibitions, we will work to overcome them, where design-build is authorized, we will work to expand its use,” Washington said recently. This strategy appears to be bearing fruit: Missouri and Minnesota recently expanded authorization of design-build and Ohio is just one of many states getting ready to test the waters.
Minnesota legislation signed into law in April extends the use of design-build to local governments. Previously, only state-funded public projects could take advantage of design-build project delivery. Seeking an alternative to design-bid-build, local governments and the construction industry pushed for design-build authority for several years. Now, a three-year pilot program modeled on the state’s transportation design-build statutes allows up to 15 local government projects to be constructed using design-build.
In Ohio, design-build gains are modest but extremely positive. Design-build is currently in use on local projects, but over the last 100 years few changes had been made to the state’s public construction project delivery methods. In response, Governor Strickland established the Ohio Construction Reform Panel (OCRP), which brought lawmakers and public officials together with stakeholders in design, construction and labor. The panel’s task was to develop recommendations to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of public projects. These recommendations may be presented as a legislative package aimed at streamlining Ohio’s project delivery process.
OCRP’s 25 recommendations are an important first step in the passage of state legislation. The panel asked that design-build and construction-manager-at-risk be considered acceptable delivery methods for state projects. In addition, OCRP suggested that design-build projects be awarded based on best-value and that firms not selected, but whose ideas or concepts would be integrated into the design and/or the construction, receive stipends. The panel determined a need for pre-qualifications for design-build and recommended that state agencies share a project-specific state certification process. The successful integration of these recommendations into law will be a major victory for design-build.
Remember, DBIA members and staff are engaged across the nation — serving on advisory panels, participating in university studies and advising national and state lawmakers on design-build project delivery. The best tool for advocacy remains successful design-build projects. The more the public and their representatives see and hear about high-quality, design-build projects and the impact they make on peoples’ lives, the more they will want to bring that success to their own state and their own communities. Let DBIA hear about your project.
Richard Thomas is DBIA’s vice president of advocacy and external affairs. He comes to DBIA with over 17 years of experience at Ames Construction in Minnesota, where he was the company’s director of government and public affairs. E-mail Richard at rthomas@dbia.org.