Most U.S. airport owners engage professional service firms to assist them with the planning, design, and management of capital development projects and other professional services at their facilities. Such firms bring resources, specialized technical capabilities, and subject matter expertise needed for these activities that may not be available within the airport owners’ organization. While some resources exist that include best practices for certain elements of procuring professional services, there is no comprehensive resource that provides recommended practices that can guide an airport from the initial stages of procuring services through to completion. Such a resource would provide well-documented and practical steps that could improve the contractor selection process and engagement of the firm through completion, resulting in successful and high-quality services.

 

The objective of this research is to develop a handbook that provides guidance for procuring and managing professional services at airports for use by airport owners and operators. For this research, professional services should include, but not be limited to, planning, environmental, architechtural & engineering, information technology, construction, financial, legal, and other key professional services provided to airports. The handbook should cover (a) the procurement process, including scoping, pre-selection process, selection criteria, evaluation and contract negotiations; and (b) processes for managing professional services contracts. The handbook should consider all sizes and types of airports and key professional services.

This research is completed and is published as Report 87. For more information on the background of the research please refer to the Contractor's Final Report.