Evaluation Framework Agreement Engineering Services review and improvement of regional flood defenses

At the end of 2018, the high water board (HHNK) concluded a Framework Contract Engineering Services Review & VBK with Arcadis, Iv-Infra and RPS, each separately. With this Framework Agreement we aim to ensure continuity in production and to carry out both the testing and VBK work in a smart, innovative and cost-efficient way. We are now approaching the end of the six-year term. HHNK has indicated in 2023 to evaluate this Framework Agreement. The evaluation should help us in deciding how we want to work after the Framework Agreement: possibly with a new Framework Agreement again or another form. In the third and fourth quarter 2023, APPM Management Consultants (APPM) conducted this evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation: To determine whether the objectives from the Schedule of Requirements of the Framework Agreement have been met and how the Framework Agreement functions/has functioned, specifically in terms of cooperation. To this end, project leaders and project team members, program managers and program team members of Iv-Infra, RPS, Arcadis and HHNK, as well as several other stakeholders of HHNK were interviewed.

In December 2023, APPM prepared the report "Evaluation of Framework Agreement HAIR - Engineering Services for the Assessment of Regional Flood Defenses and the Program for Improvement of Boezemkades (VBK-2). This evaluation report draws some conclusions, such as:

  • In the past five years, good progress has been made on the quantitative targets (including production) from the Program of Requirements.
  • The continuity of work has proved to be a good basis for development and innovation. Within the projects there has been development of various smart and innovative working methods.
  • Productive and constructive form of cooperation.
  • The joint development of (strategic) environment management still needs attention.
  • Firm management of production and progress took precedence over the joint development of a "partnership" among the four organizations.
  • Overall, all parties have a positive perception of working within this Framework Agreement.

In summary: The quantitative objectives from the Program of Requirements have been achieved, but the qualitative objectives have been understated and therefore largely unmet.

APPM made a number of recommendations in the report:

  • Together set the sights on the end date: contractual agreements and obligations, work arrangements, annual planning;
  • Secure acquired knowledge and experience within HHNK: fully transfer all realized products and innovations (documents, guidelines, calculation techniques, working methods) to HHNK;
  • Name ambitions and expectations for the last year: specific of qualitative goals;
  • Focused efforts on the further development of (strategic) environment management: a number of integral tasks with area challenges are on the agenda;
  • Share the results achieved and lessons learned from this Framework Agreement with the other water boards (via STOWA, symposium).

HHNK discussed the evaluation report with RPS, Arcadis and Iv-Infra, paying special attention to the recommendations. Actions for 2024 have been identified by the four parties for both projects and cross-project matters (including environmental management, cooperation, transfer of data). The desire of all parties is to bring this Framework Agreement to a successful conclusion.

Gert-Jan Ursem