Management and Innovation for a Sustainable Built Environment ISBN: 9789052693958 20 – 23 June 2011, Amsterdam, The Netherlands THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN PUBLIC PROCURING AUTHORITY AND PRIVATE COMPETITORS: EXPERIENCES WITH THE COMPETITIVE DIALOGUE S. Lenferink, MSc Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen The Netherlands s.lenferink@rug.nl Ir. M.E.L. Hoezen Faculty of Engineering Technology, University of Twente Rijkswaterstaat, Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment The Netherlands m.e.l.hoezen@ctw.utwente.nl Abstract In 2004 the European Commission introduced the competitive dialogue as a procurement procedure to enable for an open public-private dialogue leading to more innovation, increased competition and more trust. Since 2004 this procedure has been increasingly applied in complex Dutch road infrastructure projects. In this paper experiences from practice are analysed to assess if the goals of the European Commission are met. Conclusions were drawn on the basis of interviews with experienced public and private actors and validated during expert meetings with contract managers. Results indicate that the competitive dialogue can lead to more innovation when overcoming the reserved attitude and risk avoidance of public procuring authorities. Competition in Dutch procurement increased by use of the dialogue, and although the public-private contact in the procurement procedure leads to increased trust, it is hard to maintain this in an environment driven by competition. It is concluded that notwithstanding the use of de competitive dialogue, the ideal of an open public-private dialogue has not yet been realised. Recommendations are to stimulate innovation by not specifying the desired end-result in detail beforehand, reward openness and limit the dialogue to the complex issues. Keywords: competitive dialogue, road infrastructure projects, innovation, competition, trust INTRODUCTION In 2004 the European Commission introduced the new procurement procedure competitive dialogue. The competitive dialogue can be applied in the case of particularly complex contracts, where contracting authorities consider that use of the open or restricted procedure will not allow the award of the contract. The new procurement procedure, an alternative to the negotiation procedure, is aimed to include a more open public-private dialogue, with more innovation and increased competition (European Commission, 2004). Over the last years the competitive dialogue procedure has been increasingly applied in Dutch planning practice. Road infrastructure projects have become increasingly complex,