What development knowledge do private contractors need to win contracts?

CANBERRA — In May, Hall Contracting began work on a civil construction project supporting the rehabilitation of wharves, reef passages, and bridges, in the remote island nation of Tokelau for the New Zealand Aid Programme. But the isolation of Tokelau, as well as the cost of doing business in the Pacific, means opportunities for construction projects such as these are few and far between. Tokelau is accessible only by sea with its nearest neighbor, Samoa, approximately 500 kilometers away. This new contract is not Hall Contracting’s first foray into the aid program, having previously been awarded development contracts in Tuvalu and Fiji. With China’s aid program and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank potentially looking to advance engineering projects in the Pacific, opportunities may increase. But so will private-sector competition bidding at a lower rate. In this era, it is important for the private sector to have a passion for supporting developing outcomes and committing to delivering quality engineering solutions that will last decades — even centuries, said Samantha Miezio, communications and marketing manager for Hall Contracting. Miezio spoke to Devex about what made Hall Contracting stand out in tendering for the Tokelau project and their approach to supporting developing communities. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. As a private company tendering for aid contracts, how do you demonstrate commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and other social and environmental priorities of donors? We are focused on civil construction and marine contracts, and in that market space in developing countries and the Pacific, there is not a lot of opportunities around. In the Pacific, the big players are NZAID, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and Japan International Cooperation Agency. As part of the construction process, you begin with a concept that is highly contested within developing countries — donor funding is contested between a range of priority issues. So, the concept starts fairly broad-brushed, larger than what is likely to fall out at the end of the project. When it goes through planning and discussion, a design engineer is then brought on to produce the design and at that time, the design firms up the budget. It is costed and then they go to market for a contractor such as us. We are the last step in a very long process. When you look at the SDGs, for example, the supported goals have all been decided before they get to us. It comes to us a very narrow and very well-defined set of goals. The design of the output or piece of infrastructure is already an answer to so many of those SDGs. At this stage, what we need to demonstrate as part of the tendering process is very specific to the project. The design is set in stone, but we need to demonstrate how we will implement the project within the set timeframe. That is our main impact in and around their goals. “Companies need to be cognizant of the extra facility they have in any project — be that skills they could share or utilizing equipment elsewhere.” --— In the case of this tender, we needed to demonstrate that we had worked in an environment such as this before and that we could do so again with sensitivity and respect for local culture. This is very important and can’t be underestimated as a value to the donors and governments. The environmental impact is also key, particularly in our industry where we are at times altering and reshaping the surface of the earth to achieve outcomes. Demonstrating how we go about that and what equipment, fuels, chemicals, and waste management, we will use is critical — as are the techniques we use throughout the build so as to not impact the environment. The process for engineering projects is quite long, do you identify or follow along opportunities early to ensure you understand objectives and can demonstrate shared value? Going backward in that process, there is an opportunity to be involved in early discussions. With construction, there is a notion of constructability. You could have the best idea on the planet but it may not be doable. Or maybe we could cut through the layers to achieve the outcomes in a simpler way. And of course, in developing countries, human-centered design is key to determine if the end-product meets user needs. Not only is the design critically important, but so is the process of building it. Having experience in being the builder, or being the cook, and having had the “doing experience” is important in determining the feasibility of the project in the first place. All too often, construction projects in developing countries result in significant changes or a compromised result. We do these projects because we are passionate. You have to have a passion for it and value alignment with development goals — that has to be a precondition. And that passion extends into asking whether the solution is a good one. It is hard to turn up under these circumstances and this level of complexity if you don’t believe in the build. So very early on in the process, you do want to get involved and help shape the outcomes. Do you have policies or practices in place to position yourself better in demonstrating commitment to development goals or alignment with donors? For these tender processes, the most important thing to demonstrate is experience. What comes forward in that is a community engagement plan that we work heavily on. In the community engagement plan we go into detail on the cultural background as well as the environmental, social, and economic drivers of the project itself and how we operate within this community. We are embedded within a community for a very short time, so it is difficult for us to expand our arena beyond the project outputs itself. But having said that, the conduct of our staff needs to align culturally. In the case of Tokelau, they are a very Christian community. They have prayer time and Sundays are incredibly special and need to be respected by our workers. Those types of things are key in the Pacific and come through in our community engagement plan. The New Zealand government is particularly adept at providing feedback — it’s a small pool in New Zealand and they want the best bang for their buck. And their feedback to us has been that they could depend upon us and depend upon the result — as they had previously worked with us in Tuvalu. We are also well aware of NZAID cross-cutting issues — human rights, gender equality, health and safety, and more. We have a tremendous track record on that but we also subscribe to them, so it is not a big leap for us. We are well-aligned with their goals already and can assure them that the outcomes they want and need will be achieved. In working on these projects, do you see opportunities to engage with NGOs and local civil society organizations to support the communities you are working in? One hundred percent. There are oodles of opportunities to be had in this space. The thing is that we don’t know what opportunities there are for engagement until we are there. With Tokelau in particular, it is one of the most remote communities on the map. You really need to be there to better understand the broader needs of the community and opportunities for engagement. For example, in Tuvalu we assisted with waste management. We recognized this as an issue, and as we had equipment available, we were able to assist. In Tokelau, we will have our barge going back and forth. It will leave full and come back largely empty. So there are opportunities there to assist. But our primary objective has to be the delivery of the project. What I would say is that the companies need to be cognizant of the extra facility they have in any project — be that skills they could share or utilizing equipment elsewhere. Having recognition of this is important. But this is not necessarily something we allude to in a tender because commitment upfront could be misplaced or presumptive. Once a company, such as Hall Consulting, has been awarded a development contract, how could an NGO or CSO engage with ideas for the projects or activities to support local communities? In the first instance, you have to know the project is going ahead. Then you need to know who is doing it. Unfortunately, a lot of time, this knowledge only happens on the ground. If there are NGOs operating in the same area, that tends to be how the dots get joined. With more Chinese aid entering the Pacific, are there more opportunities for companies such as Hall Consulting and how will you position yourself to be successful? One of the competitive issues that is really facing us is Chinese construction companies — they are hugely price competitive. The thing for us, and the reason I think we have been successful in the Pacific to date, is because we are a family-owned business and underpinning that are family values. Our creed is to ensure dependability and enduring infrastructure. We are always working on the foundation of that infrastructure and, just like our business, we want our work to last generations. In the Pacific and in developing countries, this is hugely important. The key example is the Tokelau project that has a 50-year design life. No one is going out there inside the next 50 years and are probably not going out there to improve upon wharf infrastructure in the next 70 or 100 years. With China and Chinese construction companies coming in, we don’t see the quality to be there. But we can’t compete on price. There might be a sniff of more construction projects coming into the region from Chinese money, but it is not a straightforward opportunity for companies such as ours. Projects such as Tokelau are a lifeline for these communities — there are no airstrips and this is the only way to supply these communities. If there is not a contractor on board that can deliver an enduring piece of infrastructure, the whole thing falls apart. That is what underpins us, gets us out of bed, and has us selected to deliver these sorts of projects — that it is dependable.