Next-generation infrastructures are needed to cope with multifaceted demands of our rapidly evolving world. Technological progress, societal needs, and sustainability goals all need to be accommodated. Future infrastructures must integrate a variety of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), renewable energy systems, and smart materials to create more efficient and interconnected networks. The networks need to be designed so that they can accommodate to meet the rising connectivity demands while also supporting environmental sustainability. However, their development is loaded with challenges.

Infrastructure operators play a crucial role in balancing the diverse and often competing demands and requirements for infrastructures and their services. The complexity of the task highlights the importance of strategic decision-making in infrastructure design, as these decisions can significantly shape societal outcomes. With the increase in urbanization, next-generation infrastructures are expected to optimize transportation, facilitate the creation of smart cities, and enhance the overall quality of life. Additionally, they must ensure resilience against disasters and cybersecurity threats. Furthermore, investments in these infrastructures can boost global competitiveness, attract innovation, and drive economic growth. Nevertheless, addressing the needs of a technologically advanced and interconnected world requires a careful consideration of societal impacts and a balanced approach to sustainability, efficiency, and resilience.

Infrastructure encompasses essential systems including physical constructs like roads, bridges, and utilities, as well as intricate socio-technical networks such as telecommunications grids. Infrastructure sectors were traditionally managed in relative isolation. However, the evolving landscape of societal needs, environmental dynamics, and technological advancements demand increased recognition of the interconnected nature of current day infrastructures, as assets increasingly influence each other. Recognizing these interdependencies is crucial for effective design and management of future infrastructures under a variety of conditions which include crises and infrastructure failures. Failures in one infrastructure can cascade to others. Asset managers who operate independently with their own specific way of working, must increasingly work closely together to design and operate these interconnected systems. This collaborative approach is essential for designing and managing the next generation of infrastructures to ensure their stabile and resilient performance...

Transitions related to climate change, energy and biodiversity affect spatial claims and require an integrated approach. These developments herald a redesign of the built environment. Consequently, civil engineering projects are changing from technological to integration-driven assignments and their complexity is increasing. These challenges manifest themselves particularly in the integrated design process.

Therefore, this dissertation focuses on the question of how performance can be improved by focusing on integration in the civil engineering design process. An optimal, integrated approach emerges as a critical factor. Additionally, the increasingly integrative, social and dynamic character of the civil engineering design process necessitates project team members to collaborate, connect and delve into the others’ interests. Therefore, empathy turns out to be a relevant factor for project success. Moreover, the empathic abilities of the Dutch civil engineering sector appear to be relatively low, implying room for improvement.

Contemporary project-based organisations recognise the importance of leveraging past project knowledge for competitive advantage. By leveraging the lessons learned from previous and ongoing projects, organisations can benefit from managing learning within and across projects effectively. Despite these benefits, challenges persist in effectively reusing captured knowledge. This qualitative study addresses this gap by investigating knowledge reuse in project-based organisations, with a focus on social learning mechanisms. The results underline the pivotal role of collaboration and social interactions in facilitating tacit knowledge sharing and reuse, along with the significance of learning on the job.

The research identifies drivers, barriers, and guiding principles for promoting knowledge reuse, addressing barriers such as motivation, resistance to change, and knowledge silos. Recommendations include establishing comprehensive databases, fostering collaboration, and strengthening Communities of Practice aligned with organisational goals. Moreover, the study emphasises that true organisational learning primarily occurs through social interactions, advocating for a shift from 'learning from repositories' to 'learning through social means.' It underscores the role of organisational culture, particularly trust, in enhancing learning and knowledge reuse, promoting personal networks, communities of practice, and blame-free cultures. Lastly, guiding principles advocate for both top-down and bottom-up approaches to foster knowledge reuse across all organisational levels.

The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are broadly divided into two categories: leading indicators and lagging indicators. Leading indicators measure activities that have a significant effect on future performance of a project. The leading indicator thus help in taking proactive measures, while lagging indicators measure the output of past activities, thus enables in taking reactive measures. The emphasis of this research is on leading indicators. The objective of this research is to identify the most relevant leading indicators in the engineering phase from the perspective of engineering consultants and determine how these indicators can be monitored.
Thus the main research question that the thesis aims to answer is: How can leading indicators be used to monitor the performance of an infrastructure project during the engineering phase of infrastructure projects.
The leading indicators that have an impact on the cost and schedule performance in the engineering phase are change requests, decision-making by the client, communication, project size, resource allocation, project team turnover and team efficiency.
The research not only involves the identification of leading indicators but also extends to the development of a framework for monitoring these identified leading indicators.

This Matster thesis explores the topic of Culture in the built enviroment and how raising awareness should be implemented in future EPC Projects. Literature data combined with Interviews produces a recomendation to implement in Future projects.

As a result of decreasing competition within the procurement of large construction projects in the Dutch construction sector, the need arises to understand the mechanisms behind the competition. Especially how decisions by clients on the procurement of construction projects impact the number of competitors. When this is understood, clients can contribute to solving the problems in the construction market. In an attempt to supply clients with insights to impact the number of competitors, this thesis tries to answer the main research question "To what extent do client decisions in the procurement of construction projects in the Dutch construction sector affect the number of competitors?".

In an attempt to answer the question, it has been tried to create a model that predicts the number of competitors in the tender phase of construction projects. To be able to make predictions, data on factors that potentially affect the number of competitors is inserted in a regression analysis. Values are included that represent the variables project type, project value, project duration, client, contract type, market conditions, need for work, and tender method. The regression coefficients determined in this analysis can reveal how individual variables affect the predicted number of competitors. But the usability of these coefficients depends on the performance of the analysis set-up, i.e. the used regression model, chosen variables, and input data.

It turned out that the achieved prediction performances were unsatisfactory. The best-performing model reached a prediction accuracy of 44.9%, just 8.7% better than a constant guess. As a result, it is concluded that the relationship between the client factors and the number of competitors could not be quantified. Additional research on the predictability within the data affirmed that it would be hard to make any predictions. The Entropy and Mutual Information within the data, identifying the predictability, showed that the independent variables in the data could only solve approximately 30% of the 'chaos' within the distribution of the number of competitors.

The unsatisfactory model accuracies are an interesting result, given the fact that, for almost every factor considered influential on the number of competitors, a value has been included in the calculations. The question arises whether even a relation exists between client factors and the number of competitors. On top of that, the identified marginal relations pointed at the market conditions as most influential to the number of competitors. Further indicating that clients have a marginal effect on the competition within tenders. Therefore, it seems that clients are unable to solve the decreasing number of competitors in the construction industry.

In order to show the absence of a relation between the number of contractors and client factors, further research is necessary. It is yet impossible to prove this absence because improvements can still be made to the utilized data and methodology.

Using an exploratory approach, this research delves into the intricate interplay between diversity and team dynamics, using social network analysis as a powerful tool. By combining theoretical insights from literature with comprehensive network analysis, the effects of diversity on power, influence and communication on construction project teams are uncovered.

The initial phase of the research involves a literature review on diversity to develop an understanding of diversity within project teams. A preliminary survey collects data on diversity within two project teams and gathers relationship information based on Cross's four dimensions: frequency, responsiveness, effectiveness, and energy. This empirical data, along with social network analysis (SNA) metrics such as centrality, centralisation, density, clustering, and homophily, provides insights into the manifestation of diversity and its impact on team dynamics. The research findings and conclusions are presented to two experts in the field to enhance the understanding of diversity’s effects and obtain recommendations.

The literature review helped create a list of relevant diversity dimensions. Age, gender, language, and nationality are important personal traits, while educational background, functional background, experience, and team tenure are critical job-related traits. In addition, three parameters were integrated into the analysis to understand some of the observed network properties of the investigated project teams. These parameters include organisation, office location, and department.

The findings of this research highlight the significant impact of age, experience, education, functional background, nationality, and gender on team dynamics and collaboration within diverse teams. Age and experience were found to influence the closeness of team members, with younger and less experienced individuals being less connected to the larger network, particularly in relation to the oldest team members. In consultancy-based work or projects involving experts, higher educational degrees were associated with increased power, influence, and communication within the team. However, this trend was not observed in project management-based teams. The tendency to associate with others who share similar characteristics was evident based on nationality, with team members exhibiting a higher affinity to form connections towards individuals from their own nationality. Gender also influenced this effect, although to a lesser extent compared to nationality. Clustering based on nationality, gender, and functional background was observed.

Onboarding and extracurricular activities emerged as factors responsible for the visibility of the effects of diversity within project teams. A comparison revealed that the team where deliberate efforts were made to foster bonds among members exhibited lower variations in diversity-related network characteristics. This underscores the importance of effective onboarding processes prioritising trust-building, team integration, and establishing a cohesive unit. To enhance collaboration within diverse teams, several strategies are recommended based on these findings. They focus on reforming onboarding practices, embracing diversity and inclusivity, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration, and addressing cultural and language barriers and considerations while building the formal organisational structure.

In summary, this research underscores the importance of understanding the various factors that influence the social structure within diverse teams. By implementing the strategies and recommendations outlined, organisations can create a more inclusive and collaborative environment, leading to improved team outcomes.

The construction industry is subjet to a wide range of uncertainties and risks. Although detailed risk management processes have been created, many projects still fail one or more of the initial objectives. This research looks into the influence of risk attitude on the risk amnagement process and provides practitioners with both a tool to observe risk attitude as well as an outline that can be used to monitor it. This aims to help decision-making and the achievement of project goals by limiting the negative inflence of te human factor.

Mumbai,as a rapidly growing megacity faces considerable challenges with its CDWM endeavours. This research is motivated by the unique context of the city, characterised by its highly fragmented construction industry in critical need of government interventions, to promote effective CDWM due to its fragmented, unorganised and competitive nature. This thesis explores the transitioning of the construction industry in Mumbai towards effective construction and demolition waste management (CDWM) from the perspective of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It seeks to identify the challenges faced by SME’s and propose strategies to enable them to meaningfully contribute to CDWM efforts.
Amixed methods approach was taken, beginning with a literature review to identify barriers and stakeholders involved in CDWM. This was followed by a comprehensive review of international case studies pertaining to Shenzhen, Singapore City and Hanoi to identify international best practices for compara
ble Asian contexts. Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from Mumbai’s construction industry were conducted to adapt these identified solutions to Mumbai’s unique industry fabric. This was followed by the application of the Socio-Technical Systems (STS) theory framework to investigate the interplay of technical and social dimensions within their relevant environment. This leads to societal outcomes in the form of solutions for CDWM in Mumbai, steeped in its specific context using a phase wise approach.
The literature review revealed that the construction industry in India and by extension Mumbai suffers from; insufficient infrastructure, lack of knowledge and technology, lack of governmental incentives for CDWM,mindsetproblems, lack of enforcement, fragmented nature of the industry, supply chain issues and corruption as barriers towards the adoption of effective CDWM measures. Out of these barriers; the fragmented nature of the industry, lack of enforcement and corruption emerged as the key barriers that serve as stumbling blocks towards the adoption of effective CDWM. Studying international best practices through a case study approach provided solutions that can be divided in to 4 categories,
these are; strong governmental interventions, improving monitoring and enforcement, establishment of a thriving recycling market and improvements in infrastructure and technology.
These best practices were aligned to Mumbai’s unique context through stakeholder interviews and thematic analysis was conducted using the 4 dimensions of STS analysis as the themes. This allowed for the application of the STS theory framework to Mumbai’s construction industry, employing a phase-wise solution due to its suitability to transition projects and the requisite-prerequisite nature of some of the suggested measures. The solution is divided into 3 phases namely; Foundation and Preparatory Measures, Strengthening Implementation and Innovation and lastly Advancing Utilisation and Transition. These measures were suggested with the aim of transitioning Mumbai’s construction industry to largely eliminate illegal dumping, improve infrastructure and technology through collaborative research, improve quality of recycled materials, set up a thriving recycling market and introduce technical specifications for their use resulting in establishing material circularity in the industry. The final aim is for landfilling to be restricted purely to soil with all recyclable materials being recycled and processed to improve material circularity and reduce environmental impact of the construction industry in Mumbai.
The research also revealed that SME’s operating in Mumbai can be integrated positively into CDWM endeavors by improving the enforcement in the industry, providing incentives against punitive measures and enabling them to incorporate material circularity in projects without significant changes to their operating procedures. This cohesive solution, inclusive of all industry sectors, offers a means for the government to integrate, the historically challenging to organise SME sector into CDWM endeavors in Mumbai.

Opportunity Management is a well-defined concept in the field of project management. However, at the same time, opportunity management is not practised very well. Under risk management, threats and opportunities are identified and managed. In practise, opportunities are overlooked while threats receive more attention. Numerous barriers to the practical use of opportunity management have been identified by researchers. Eight of the twelve barriers were found to be connected to organisational procedures and competencies. This study looked at competencies and took advice from entrepreneurs in an effort to overcome such barriers. This study aims to shed light on project managers' and entrepreneurs' perspectives on the competencies that could facilitate practising opportunity management and identify solutions to enhance opportunity management.

Project managers' and entrepreneurs' perspectives were compared using the Q-methodology. Q-analysis resulted in low cumulative explained variance (42%). The similarities and differences between the perspectives of project managers and entrepreneurs were examined in light of the Q-analysis findings. Entrepreneurial or shared competencies, such opportunity (s10), creativity (s4), and leadership (s8), received the highest overall ratings. The lowest rated competencies, in comparison, are self-management (s26), governance, structure, and processes (s7), and compliance, standards, and regulations (s2). Business developers entering a project in the conceptualisation phase found resourcefulness (s22), vision (s34) and personal communication (s12) more important. Whereas project managers are involved in the execution phase of a project, they found negotiation (s9), time (s33) and procurement (s16) more critical for opportunity management. Project managers' and business developers' differing perspectives are the result of (1) their involvement in different stages of the project and (2) their different project roles.

The difference in opinion can be overcome by increasing coherence between project managers and business developers. Project managers need to move their focal point to business oriented by fostering opportunities in alignment with the project portfolio, and opportunities in the direction of the project portfolio will help deliver portfolio benefits. According to this research, it is advised to involve the project manager in the project's conceptualization stage, and the business developer must continue to be involved during the project's initial execution stage. It will give both parties the chance to look at one another's work, gather ideas from one another, and develop a market opportunity that is viable enough to take advantage of. To identify opportunities, project managers must consider organisational strategy and portfolio benefits. Project managers should foster an environment where team members who are working in isolation can communicate and exchange ideas with people from different disciplines. Project managers need to educate their team members more about opportunity management, organisational strategy, and portfolio benefits.

The purpose of this study was to understand the effect of empathy in the project team on the outcome of the integrated design process of infrastructure projects. Despite years of experience, many infrastructure projects are still underperforming. Within the project lifecycle, the integrated design process has an important role in this. Empathy could be an important tool to improve the outcomes of the integrated design process through communication. This study represents one of the first steps towards a better understanding of this competency as an important tool for project success through the use of serious research gaming. The serious game Patchwork was designed and played for data collection. The research showed that empathy positively influences the degree to which people understand each other's information expectations and the communicative hindrance experienced due to logistical, interpersonal, or accessibility barriers. This is particularly determined by the cognitive side of empathy. In addition, this study shows that sufficient effective communication is necessary for solid project outcomes. Communication seems to serve as a prerequisite for a successful integrated design process. No demonstrable effect was found in the direct relationship of empathy and the outcome of the integrated design process. The line of empathy through communication is not reflected in the direct results. Additionally, this says that influences of empathy on the game results through other processes than communication cannot be demonstrated. However, this study cannot rule out that there was no positive effect of empathy on the outcomes of the integrated design process. Further research with larger datasets needs to conclude what the proportion is of other confounding variables being dominant in game success and how empathy relates to them. All in all, this research has taken first important steps toward recognizing the value of empathy in construction projects and it provides much reason for follow-up research into this topic.

Incorporating sustainable practices in projects through a project management approach has gained traction in recent years. The current definition of integrating sustainability in projects is ambiguous (Schipper, Sivius, & Nedeski, 2012) and stakeholders hold different perspectives on the topic. Integrating sustainability in projects has greatly shifted from the concept of reusing, recycling of materials in projects to reducing the delays in the projects to save the CO2 emissions and in increasing energy efficiencies in the projects (McPhee & Dias, 2020). Although, integrating sustainability into projects has gained traction in recent years, project management profession has faced difficulties in incorporating sustainability principles in large infrastructure projects especially in first of a kind project (“Progress of PM”, 2022). This is because, technologies or methods to be employed in these projects are unknown and there is no precedent or project expertise to guide these projects. This has proven to be vulnerable to severe cost and schedule overruns and performance deficiencies. These projects are built with a strong motive to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions but, due to the delays by new technology or methods involved, saving carbon dioxide emissions during the construction have been proved difficult (“Progress of PM”, 2022). The research is thus grounded by the gap of exploring tools/practices to reduce the delays in first of a kind project which will aid in saving the CO2 emissions and in meeting the energy efficiencies targets.

The global population is growing rapidly, so the construction sector must keep up by increasing the number of houses and improving the infrastructure. The construction sector is importance to support economic growth and social development within society. However, the conflict that arises here is that the activities of the construction sector are also responsible for a tremendous amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This makes the construction sector a key player in the fight against global warming and its consequences. The construction sector can help reduce its emissions and slow down global warming by constructing more sustainable. Sustainable construction minimises the impact on the environment and assures safety and comfort while a financial profit is made. However, the most significant barrier to the implementation of sustainable construction is the affordability of sustainable projects. Sustainable construction often results in higher costs than conventional construction methods, which slow down the return on investment for the project owner.

In 2005, the European Union (EU) introduced the emissions trading system (ETS). The ETS is a policy measure aimed to lower the European emissions by letting the polluter pay for its emissions of GHGs. This policy measure could help overcome the barrier of affordability towards implementing sustainable construction. This research aims to find the ETS allowance price tipping point that financially stimulates the use of natural construction materials like timber over conventional materials like steel and concrete. The tipping point results could stimulate the implementation of sustainable construction and help to slow down global warming.

The results show that the allowance price could help lower the barrier of affordability because a higher allowance price increases the market price of carbon-intensive construction materials like steel and concrete. However, the found allowance price tipping point is unlikely to occur based on the current allowance price of around € 85. Therefore, the current ETS can be considered helpful but not decisive towards a financial favourable timber structure for buildings in the Dutch built environment.

Effective planning and control are crucial for the successful delivery of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) projects, which are characterized by complex organizational structures, interdependent activities, overlapping phases, and a large number of disciplines and participants. However, project uncertainty, including the lack of complete information and frequent changes, can lead to delays and cost overruns if not effectively managed. In this research, an integrated planning and control approach for EPC projects that addresses these challenges by combining the Last Planner System of Lean Construction and the Scrum framework of Agile Management is developed. Through a literature review and a case study of an EPC industrial construction project, six requirements for effective planning and control and mechanisms for their implementation are identified. The approach is evaluated through interviews with industry experts. The results highlight the importance of both structured planning and control for identifiable and predictable uncertainties, and flexibility and agility for unforeseen uncertainties, in managing project uncertainty in EPC projects.

The present research tries to promote circularity in steel structures by attempting to further incorporate technologies like BIM, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Blockchain in the AEC industry. BIM is already applied in construction projects but not yet focused on aspects that will enhance the reusability of steel structures. IoT and Blockchain, on the other hand, are implemented with success in other industries and according to researchers have the potential to add value to the AEC industry as well. The Design Science Research approach is used to develop a framework that will indicate what information should be registered in order to improve the decision making towards reuse when the structure has reached its end of life. During the different phases of a project and specifically the design, construction, operational, and maintenance phase various characteristics of the structure were indicated for registration. Moreover, a detailed roadmap on how they would be registered in each technology, what they would offer to the reuse process, and who is responsible for inserting them. To examine the soundness of the framework, it was validated through semi-structured interviews with experts from the AEC industry.

Construction projects have become more complex over time, and cost overruns and time delays have become a global phenomenon. Signs that can indicate future project failure, such as cost overruns and time delays, in early project phases are Early Warning (EW) signs. EW signs are defined as indicators for potential future problems. This research investigates mechanisms that influence the response to EW signs in construction projects. Directions for solutions to mitigate the obstructions for responding to EW signs found in this research are also provided. This research provides a new perspective compared to current literature, by conducting research from the perspective of a contractor, including the interaction with subcontractors. Previous studies focused on the client’s perspective instead.

This qualitative research uses a combination of research methods including an in-depth case study on the EW response of three constructions projects, expert interviews and an expert meeting. Data analysis in this research uses grounded theory methodology, and combines organisational behaviour theory with the topic of EW signs.

Two main mechanisms influencing the EW response were found: (1) the lack of information flow in projects seems to prevent EW signs from being identified, and (2) group culture and team interaction were found to hinder the response to EW signs in projects. A third mechanism was found as a recurring theme impacting three out of four analysed EW responses: interpretations of agreements and contracts, and trust in the work carried out by other parties seem to reduce the activity of identifying and responding to EW signs.

To mitigate the obstructions for identifying and responding to EW signs found in this research, the following directions for solutions are concluded to show potential: attention for individual characteristics in team composition, equipping the information system in projects with accessible options to store, and keep track of potential EW signs during projects, increasing the attention to EW signs during the tender phase, and creating awareness of the importance of responding to EW signs in project teams.

One of the most common hurdles especially in large infrastructure projects is scope change. Scope changes negatively affect time, quality and usually lead to cost overruns due to underestimating the change order impacts on the project. There are two main categories through which the impacts could be quantified: the first and second order effects. The first order effect is the impact of the change, cost, time, quality, and risk related. The second order effects are the impacts that resulted as consequences of the first order effects such as lower labour productivity and increase in errors.

The purpose of this research was to analyse and quantify the second order effect due to scope change in large infrastructure projects. The approach that was used to create the model is system dynamics modelling (SDM), since several studies confirmed the success of system dynamics modelling in solving similar projects’ problems in different industries.

Through the literature review and the case study, it was found that the second order effects of scope change are rework, schedule pressure, morale, overtime, productivity, hiring new staff, and office congestion. It was observed through the created dynamic hypothesis that productivity was directly impacted by morale, office congestion, schedule pressure and overtime. The simulated model showed that productivity and morale were the two mostly influenced factors by the scope change.

The main question of "How could second order effects of the project scope change be quantified through system dynamics modelling?" was answered as follows: First, a dynamic hypothesis should be created and confirmed through literature and continuous interviews till the hypothesis reflects the project case. Second, formulas should be created for the defined variables and values should be inserted in the model based on the case data. Third, the model should be simulated, and the perceived progress should be compared with planned progress. Then, the first order progress should be compared with the planned progress to quantify the first order of effects of scope change. Finally, to quantify the influence of the second order effect of scope change, the first order effects should be deducted from the total influence of scope change.

The problem defined in this research is that the concept “fit-for-purpose” does not have a widely accepted definition in the research field of PM (project management). Also, the link between terms “fit-for-purpose” and ‘project management” has not been conceptualized. The main objective of this research is to investigate the link between fit-for-purpose and project management and applications of FFP-PM (Fit-for-purpose Project Management) approach. The main research question is formulated as: How can the term Fit-for-purpose and its development be defined in the field of project management? This research adopted a coupling of bibliometric analysis and content analysis to comprehensively answer this question. The bibliometric analysis was conducted on the literature from recent 20 years to investigate the link from a theoretical perspective. This stage follows a three-step method, with Step I looking into term ”fit-for-purpose” in all management areas, Step II exploring different forms of adaptations in the PM, and Step III building the links between the previous two steps. FFP-PM was defined as a set of wisely selected adaptive methodologies, tools and expertise to manage project activities. To investigate the links from the practical perspective, a content analysis was conducted on 117 student essays of the course WB3501 Fit-for-purpose Project Management from the past 8 years (2013-2021). Many PM practices that are fit-for-purpose in nature were identified and included in the key findings of this analysis. These practices cover many aspects in PM and it was further concluded that FFP-PM consists of a broad set of PM methodologies that can manifest their ways in many aspects throughout the life-cycle of the projects. To validate the results, the preliminary findings from the previous analyses were brought across to be tested with external practitioners via two in-depth interviews, to check weather and to what extent these findings reflect the PM in the real world. The results suggested that the majority of the findings are recognizable based on their experiences. A few adjustments were made after discussing comments through revisiting the literature. The main research question was then answered by establishing a theoretical framework of FFP-PM, the components of which cover the need factors, enabler factors, characteristics and required skills and competences of the project managers under the framework of FFP-PM. Projects under FFP-PM are defined and shaped by specific values and strategies, and managed with conscious decision-making in light of learnings from history experiences, risk management conducted close to the stakeholders’ values, and a welcoming attitude towards uncertainties and changes.

This research aims to identify what is most important to focus on to improve the collaboration between contractors and engineering agencies. Research is done on different collaborative relationships, but the contractor and engineering agency collaboration is relatively new, as it did not exist before the major contractual change from traditional contracts to integrated contracts. The most commonly used integrated contract is the design and construct contract, which therefore is the contract focused on in this research. As project managers are the ones who facilitate collaboration, the main research question is defined as: ‘How can project managers improve the collaboration between contractors and engineering agencies in a design and construct contract in order to realize a better integral design?’ The collaborative process between the two organizations is identified, which in the Netherlands is contractually based upon The New Rules (DNR 2011). The iterative process to realize an integral project design is carried out by a project team, which is supported by the usage of digital systems and managed focusing on the project design and outcome. This collaborative process can be facilitated by several collaboration conditions, of which the most and least important ones to improve the collaboration are identified. This means that the research is focused on what is most important to improve the collaboration, and not what is most important within the collaboration. The collaboration conditions ranked highest are the basis of the three views that are most important to improve the collaboration: project driven members, similar project focus and integral overview. These views are the starting point of six managerial implications that a project manager should implement in the collaborative design process to improve the collaboration between contractors and engineering agencies. Although applying these managerial implications into the process do not guarantee an improved collaborative relationship, they can be seen as the most important aspects to focus on.

Researchers in the past have shown that communication is integral to successful results in a project's design phase. This is said so as there are multiple professionals from diverse backgrounds who come together to prepare a project's design. Consequently, communication between these professionals becomes a key component as it is the way they share project information apart from sharing their knowledge and thoughts at this stage. However, the relationship between communication and project success is not well defined, particularly the understanding of the barrier and drivers of communication in a design team seems obscure. Thus, this research builds on this theme and tries to understand project communication in detail. By examining the communication practices of a design team through the lens of literature, this study aims to describe how communication affects the project outcome and specify ways to improve it. To fulfill this objective, this research is divided into three parts. In part A, the literature is reviewed to gain insights and reflect on the attributes that describe the communication of a design team and explain the influence of these attributes on project success. In part B, a document review is done to analyze the documents produced by a design team that provide guidelines for the team's communication practices for project success. In part C, semi-structured interviews are conducted to obtain empirical data explaining the communication practices followed by the team while working on a project. Following this, the results obtained from the three parts are compared, which helps identify the gaps in literature and the guidelines contained in the documents on the communication practices to be used by the team.
The results of this study suggest that communication is the central aspect that controls the functioning of the team. Communication practices impacts the team's collaboration, coordination, project performance, and quality of the work produced by the team. The impact of communication practices on these aspects of a project is categorized under two categories: drivers and barriers of communication. Based on these, recommendations for improving communication practices and mitigating barriers to project success are made and validated with experts. The study concludes with discussions on how adapting lean principles can bring many benefits to a team in the form of focus in meetings, minimizing transaction time of sharing information and developing a feedback culture. Also, these discussions describe that when working on a complex project, using a recommendation framed in this research; a team can mitigate various challenges associated with groupthink.