An assessment of alternative contract award methods and contractor performance in local governments in Uganda: a case study of Oyam district

Abstract

There are several alternative contract award methods stipulated in the PPDA Act, regulations and Local government guidelines to guide the identification of contracts for Government projects in Uganda. The alternative contract award methods include: Quality and Cost Based Selection, Quality Based Selection, Fixed Budget Selection, Least Cost Selection and Technical Compliance Selection and contractor performance is specified by cost and time variation. This study assessed alternative contract award methods and contractor performance in Oyam District Local Government in Uganda. The study employed a triangulation approach whereby both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to collect the data relating to the factors for the choice and commonly used contract award methods and contractor performance. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to analyze data contract award methods and contractor performance and Relative Importance Index (RII) was used to rank the methods and their impact on contractor performance. Regression analysis was used to show the effect of contract award methods on contractor performance. The study findings revealed that Least Cost Selection (LCS) with RII of 0.845 was the most frequently used contract award method. It also revealed that technical factors with RII of 0.892 were the most important in determination of the choice for method of contract awarding in Oyam District Local Government. The study recommended that Quality Based Selection and Technical Compliance Selection should be prioritized in contract award process in order to foster effective contractor performance (timely completion and adequate cost) in Oyam District Local Government.