Approved by the Engineering Practice Policy Committee on May 23, 2024
Approved by the Public Policy and Practice Committee on June 5, 2024
Adopted by the Board of Direction on July 18, 20

Policy

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) endorses selection of engineering firms/teams for projects based on design competition as one method of qualifications-based selection (QBS), provided that:

  • Each competing engineering firm/team is fairly compensated for reasonable competition costs as outlined in the request for proposals. 
  • The selection panel includes licensed engineers or practitioners who are competent in the technical aspects of the project and do not have a conflict of interest with any of the competing engineering firms/teams. 
  • Selection is based on design, not design fee or political influence. 

Issue

Design competitions can provide innovative concepts that may result in preferred solutions for the project owner. Risks of design competitions to engineering firms/teams are:

  • They may not receive fair or equal compensation for their services. 
  • The selection panel may not include licensed engineers or practitioners who are competent in the technical aspects of the project.
  • Concepts from any or all firms may be used to achieve the best overall solution.  

Rationale

Design competitions can be useful for selecting engineering firms/teams. Innovative ideas can be generated by engineering firms/teams, providing preferred solutions to project owners. The design competition selection process is more successful when the selection panel includes licensed engineers or practitioners who have the technical background and experience necessary to evaluate the designs presented, so that sound innovative solutions are identified and incorporated. Compensation to prepare a response should be determined prior to the competition and clearly spelled out in the design competition request for qualifications. Each engineering firm/team should be compensated a fair amount. 

This policy has worldwide application
ASCE Policy Statement 439
First Approved in 1995