Behind the Scenes of Public Construction Clients – Collecting Data on Commissioning Activities and Organisational Approach

The understanding of public commissioning activity is fairly limited, with national and European research primarily focusing on large scale projects, European procurement procedures and new construction. However, most construction activities involve small scale projects and assignments performed by smaller scale semi-public organisations such as hospitals, schools or housing associations. Similarities and differences between new construction and asset management have not received ample attention in quantitative research. In order to increase the knowledge on public commissioning activity in the Netherlands, an on-line cross-sector survey has been developed. This paper describes the design and methodology of the survey and its current status.