Progressive bidding

Progressive bidding (also called progressive design-build or progressive P3) is a two-phase construction procurement model used by Canadian public owners on complex projects. Instead of pricing everything blind up front, the owner selects the best team first, then develops the price with that team before committing.

Phase 1: select the team

The owner issues an RFQ-style call scoring qualification, approach and design capability. Proponents submit conceptual solutions and non-binding preliminary pricing ranges. The top-ranked proponent — sometimes the top two or three, as a fallback — is selected on qualifications and solution quality, not on final price.

Phase 2: build the price together

The selected proponent then works with the owner and its consultants to refine scope, de-risk the design and develop an open-book, guaranteed price. If they can't reach agreement on price or terms within the phase's capped window, the owner usually recovers its phase-one costs from the proponent, terminates, and moves to the next-ranked team — this cost-recovery term is what keeps phase-two pricing honest.

When owners use it

Fit

Complex or evolving-scope projects — hospitals, recreation centres, remediation — where a fixed-price blind bid either prices in huge risk premiums or attracts no credible bidders. The collaborative phase surfaces real costs instead of guesses.

Trade-offs

Critics note the competitive tension largely ends after phase 1, so value-for-money depends heavily on the phase-one selection being genuinely merit-based and the phase-two price being benchmarked. Many Canadian owners add independent cost reviews precisely for that reason.

Related definitions

Two-envelope evaluation · Two-envelope vs BAFO · ITT vs RFT