The Integrated Product Delivery (IPD) model is fast becoming a popular and powerful agreement for contracts that involve multiple organizations responsible for the successful delivery of major projects. The goal of IPD is to remove much of the friction and adversarial nature of joint ventures and P3 style agreements by aligning the financial goals of all parties involved. Commonly, major projects are jointly managed and delivered by a combination of the owner plus a general contractor, architect, engineering company and other contractors.
While a healthy bit of competition can result in positively motivating entities to work more productively, traditional agreements can foster a caustic, ineffective environment where organizations that should be working together, end up working against each other, competing for the same resources and, inadvertently, sabotaging the health of the project. IPD encourages a more collaborative approach, bringing down barriers and silos to achieve a more beneficial result. The intent is to tie individual success to project success, thereby achieving a more holistic approach from each entity, rather than a segregated approach. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) defines IPD as “a project delivery approach that integrates people, systems, business structures and practices into a process that collaboratively harnesses the talents and insights of all participants to optimize project results, increase value to the owner, reduce waste, and maximize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication, and construction.” I’ve provided more resources on IPD at the bottom of this article for your reference.