Stage 0
Strategic Definition
Chapter overview
Stage 0 is when the client’s Business Case is clarified and the Strategic Brief agreed and undertaken, with fundamental questions being asked about the project. The contract administrator will not be involved or necessarily appointed at this stage, but strategic decisions on assembling the project team and forms of procurement and building contracts will impact on the role at subsequent stages. This chapter considers how the contract administrator role interfaces with other roles at this stage and considers how advice and decisions made at this stage will affect the role in subsequent stages. The key coverage in this chapter is as follows:
Introduction
At Stage 0 the project is strategically appraised and defined before the Initial Project Brief is created at Stage 1. Initial considerations will be made regarding assembling the project team and also on the likely form of procurement to be used, depending on the type of project or an experienced client’s preferences.
Small projects at Stage 0 
On a small project, Stage 0 may simply form part of the initial meeting with the client to consider the client’s brief before securing the commission and so will effectively be concurrent with Stage 1. On a larger project, it would be a distinct stage.
It should be remembered, however, that although Stage 0 is one of the core stages, the scope will vary. Therefore, a time charge fee is appropriate for this stage. On larger, more complex projects, it should be seen as a distinct work stage commanding an additional fee.
What are the Core Objectives of this stage?
The Core Objectives of the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 at Stage 0 are:
The Core Objectives at Stage 0 relate to identifying the client’s Business Case and the preparation of the Strategic Brief, together with identifying other core project requirements.
What supporting tasks should be undertaken during Stage 0?
The Suggested Key Support Tasks noted in the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 have been devised to support the Core Objectives and to ensure that the documentation required to proceed to the next stage has been prepared.
The support tasks during this stage are focused on reviewing the feedback from previous projects, which will have been fed back to the design team by the contract administrator at Stage 7.
What level of service is involved at this stage?
Stage 0 is the initial stage within the RIBA Plan of Work 2013. The level of service can range from minimal on a small project through to a fully defined level of service on a larger project, which would include:
- receiving the client’s instructions and information about the project
- assisting in defining the client’s strategic requirements and preparing the Business Case and the Strategic Brief
- reviewing alternative project team options with the client
- contributing to the Project Programme and assembling the project team.
What is the project team at this stage?
Putting together the project team 
Assembling a Collaborative Project Team by Dale Sinclair (RIBA Publishing, 2013) gives further guidance on how project teams are procured and assembled.
This stage may not involve the appointment of many members of the design team, but it is likely to require the client, the client adviser, the project lead and possibly the architect (although on larger projects no designers may be appointed). When selecting the right team it is important to ask the client the right questions to properly define the scope of the project and to agree who is to lead the team, whether it is the client, project manager, architect or contractor. Other members of the project team will be appointed at the appropriate stages and the timing of the contractor’s involvement can vary according to the preferred procurement route.
Who carries out the contract administrator role?
Although the contract administrator is unlikely to have been officially appointed at this stage, the details of the role will be set out within the professional services contract to be agreed with the client. On traditional appointments, and particularly on small projects such as domestic, the contract administrator role will typically be combined with that of the project lead, lead designer and, possibly, other roles. However, on larger, more complex projects, the contract administrator could be a separate appointment or carried out by the cost consultant or architect. Alternatively it could be the project manager, who may be the main point of contact with the client. All these options need to be addressed at this early stage.
Until it is known at what stage the project is likely to go out to tender, one of the appointed parties may assume the contract administrator role during Stage 0 and Stage 1 in terms of making decisions on procurement and forms of building contract. In such an instance where the ‘actual’ contract administrator is not giving the initial advice, there is a risk that the client may not be advised appropriately unless the person assuming that role has the relevant knowledge and experience.
What is the role of the contract administrator for various procurement options?
After defining the project team strategically at Stage 0, the assembling of the team continues incrementally at Stage 1 and beyond, leading ultimately to the inclusion of the contractor. However, it is at Stage 0 that the likely role of the contract administrator will be defined, depending on the preferred form of procurement.
Forms of procurement fall into three main categories: traditional, design and build, and management forms. These are addressed in more detail in Stage 1 (pages 30–43). However, when considered strategically, although there are core tasks for the contract administrator applicable to all forms, the role will vary slightly according to the route selected.
Traditional procurement route
On traditional contracts, the contract administrator role will involve carrying out the following core tasks:
- advising the client on methods of procurement, tendering and the appointment of the main contractor
- issuing, receiving and analysing tenders
- preparing contract documents
- administering the terms of the Building Contract
- issuing further information and instructions
- arranging and chairing regular meetings between the contractor, the design team and the client
- managing Change Control Procedures
- certifying payments as required by the Building Contract
- considering claims
- preparing defects lists
- certifying Practical Completion
- actions during the rectification period
- issuing the final certificate
- arranging for the preparation of ‘As-constructed’ Information and operating and maintenance manuals.
Design and build procurement route
Following a design and build procurement route the project team could work for the client or the contractor, or even both, albeit sequentially rather than simultaneously. If employed by the contractor, the project team would have no function in connection with managing the terms of the Building Contract itself as that is a client appointment. If employed by the client, the project team would advise on tendering procedures and contract matters and, assuming that they are not to be novated to the contractor, one of the team members could act as the employer’s agent under the Building Contract.
The employer’s agent will normally take on the role of contract administrator and is likely to be either the project lead (often the architect if they have not been novated) or the cost consultant. However, the role can be carried out by someone from the client organisation, such as an in-house project manager, or by an independent practice appointed by the client.
In addition to their contract administrator role, the employer’s agent will also carry out other tasks prior to the letting of a contract, such as preparing the Employer’s Requirements to be issued with the tender documents, issuing, receiving and analysing the tenders and preparing contract documents.
After the Building Contract has been awarded the contract administrator will undertake the following in addition to the core tasks:
- coordinating the review of detailed drawing and specification information prepared by the contractor
- considering items submitted by the contractor for approval, as required by the Employer’s Requirements.
Management contracting procurement routes
Management forms of contracting generally fall into two main categories: management contracting and construction management, neither route being suitable for inexperienced clients and in both instances the contractor is appointed at an early stage.
In such cases the client will appoint someone to be the project manager, who is either an in-house employee or a consultant, to look after the client’s interests at all stages. Although the project manager could undertake the contract administrator role, the contract administrator may be a separate individual, often the architect, who would work closely with the project manager throughout the Project Programme period.
Project manager 
Further information about the role of the project manager can be found in The RIBA Job Book, ninth edition (RIBA Publishing, 2013).
Construction management
On construction management contracts it is the construction manager who will undertake elements of the contract administrator role. In this case the construction manager is employed by the client to organise and manage the trades contractors, who are all employed directly by the client. In practice the construction manager may not be brought in until a late stage during the pre-construction period.
Although the construction manager’s remit may include other roles, during the pre-construction stage the construction manager’s role as contract administrator will include reviewing and coordinating information prepared by the trades contractors and programme management in addition to the core tasks.
Management contracts
In a management contract either the architect, project manager or a separate contract administrator working with the project manager will undertake management of the Building Contract. The tasks are similar to other procurement routes and, in addition to the core tasks, will include tendering individual trades packages and reviewing and coordinating information prepared by the trades contractors.
What about Feedback from Stage 7 – In Use?
When developing the Strategic Brief one of the Suggested Key Support Tasks is to review Feedback from previous projects so this can be fed into the briefing process for the new project. This feedback could be from other similar but unconnected projects, but the most useful feedback would be from previous work on the same or similar buildings for the same client.
Feedback from Stage 7 feeds back to Stage 0, where data from an existing building can be used to inform the briefing process for the refurbishment or alteration of the building. This is of particular significance where Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been used previously and the updated model would be used to inform the design of the future works.
A post-project review in Stage 7 will have highlighted the major differences between original expectations and actual outcomes and how occupiers use the building. Information from the contract administrator during the construction phase of a previous project would have been fed into the handover manuals to inform the building’s users. Also, during the In Use stage (Stage 7), facilities managers and maintenance staff may have produced feedback on whether the building is too complicated to use easily or difficult to maintain. Both these sources of information will benefit the briefing for the next project as well as the subsequent design and construction process.
Chapter summary 0
Although the contract administrator will not be involved or necessarily appointed at this stage, this chapter has set out, from a contract administrator’s viewpoint, the initial considerations to be made when assembling the project team and deciding on the form of procurement to be used.
The role and scope of work of the contract administrator will be affected by the form of procurement selected. The contract administrator’s input to the Initial Project Brief will be developed as a continuous process though Stage 1 and into Stage 2.