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The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) released Toward Collaboration’s Future: Strengthening the Architect-Contractor Relationship on May 27, 2026. The 20-page whitepaper is a practical, principles-based framework for architects, contractors, owners and the wider project team. It asks teams to align earlier, define responsibilities, share risk information, control changes and learn from results—not to adopt a new contract or a prescribed software product.
Read the full AIA–AGC report, alongside the AGC announcement and AIA announcement.
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What is the new AIA–AGC collaboration framework?
The framework is guidance for making architect–contractor collaboration an intentional project practice from planning through closeout. It is designed to work across project sizes and delivery methods, with the owner involved in choosing the delivery approach, assembling the team and defining scopes. The central idea is that collaboration has to be established, maintained and measured; it cannot be repaired reliably by a single kickoff meeting or a late-stage dispute process.
AIA and AGC developed the paper through a multi-year industry dialogue that followed the Architect’s Journey to Specification. The report credits Bill Hercules, FAIA, FACHA, FACHE (AIA) and Dawn Stephens, CPA (AGC) as co-chairs and identifies the work as a joint statement by the two organizations. The associations’ release describes the framework as a roadmap for better communication, less conflict and better results for owners and project teams.
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It is important to understand the document’s status:
- It is not a new contract form, regulation, certification or project guarantee.
- It does not replace professional practice standards such as AIA’s Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice.
- It is not exhaustive and does not claim to supersede, endorse or challenge every existing collaborative approach.
- It does not require a particular building-information-modeling (BIM) system, cloud platform, delivery method or commercial vendor.
In practical terms, the report gives a team a shared vocabulary and a set of management routines. The contracts still define legal duties; the framework helps people make those duties workable in day-to-day decisions.
Why early alignment matters to the project
Architects and contractors often enter a project with different information, incentives and decision horizons. The architect may be developing design intent and performance requirements while the contractor is evaluating sequence, site logistics, labor availability, procurement and cost exposure. If those perspectives meet only after bid or after construction starts, a feasible design issue can become a costly change, a delayed decision or a claim.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe framework therefore starts with an owner-led choice about how the team will work. Delivery method, contract structure, team size, project phase and the owner’s priorities all affect the right level of formality. A small renovation may need a short written charter and a weekly decision log; a major public project may need a facilitated workshop, several responsibility matrices and a formal risk register. The principle is consistent even when the paperwork is not: establish expectations before people are forced to improvise.
How to put the recommendations into practice
1. Hold an all-party alignment workshop
Use a project workshop or kickoff before design decisions become difficult to reverse. Invite the owner, architect, contractor, consultants and, when appropriate, subcontractors, suppliers and field personnel. The agenda should produce decisions and records, not just introductions.
At minimum, work through:
- Owner goals, success criteria and constraints.
- Contract obligations, delegated design and authority limits.
- Milestones, decision dates and the information needed at each one.
- Known technical, commercial, site, procurement and safety risks.
- Specification priorities, quality expectations and design assumptions.
- Meeting cadence, communication channels and escalation contacts.
- How the team will handle RFIs, submittals, design clarifications and changes.
- Expected behavior when information is incomplete or a commitment is at risk.
Record the agreed decisions, unresolved questions, owners and due dates. Revisit the record when the team changes, the project moves from design to procurement or construction, or a major risk appears. The workshop is the start of the collaboration system, not proof that the system is working.
2. Bring construction knowledge into design and preconstruction
The report encourages owners and design teams to involve the contractor and relevant trade partners or suppliers during planning and preconstruction. Their value is not limited to pricing. Early input can test constructability, site access, temporary works, sequencing, labor assumptions, material availability, procurement timing and long-lead items.
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To make that input useful, identify what the contractor is being asked to review and by when. Separate design intent from means and methods, and document assumptions that still need validation. If a supplier or specialty subcontractor contributes technical information, record the source, applicable product or performance requirement and any resulting design decision. Early participation should inform the design without quietly transferring a contractual responsibility that the parties have not agreed to.
3. Make every responsibility explicit
Ambiguous ownership is a common source of delay: several people believe someone else is preparing an item, or a person is held accountable without authority to act. The framework recommends documenting each party’s scope, deliverables, authority and gaps, then revisiting those assignments at project transitions.
A work breakdown structure can show what must be delivered. A responsibility-assignment matrix, such as a RACI chart, can show who is responsible, accountable, consulted and informed for each activity. Use the matrix for design packages, cost updates, permits, submittals, inspections, commissioning information and owner decisions—not just for headline milestones.
For each critical item, answer four questions in writing:
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- Who prepares it and who has authority to approve it?
- Who must be consulted before the decision and who must receive it afterward?
- What is the escalation path if the date, quality or scope cannot be met?
Keep the matrix current. A role that was appropriate during schematic design may not fit procurement or field installation.
4. Set transparent communication rules
“Communicate more” is not an operating procedure. Agree on the meeting cadence, required attendees, agenda owner, minutes format, response times and escalation route. Define where official decisions, current drawings, submittals, RFIs and change records live. The team should know which channel is for discussion and which record controls when the discussion becomes a commitment.
Share budget assumptions and risks early enough to support a decision. If a cost plan excludes escalation, design development, temporary works or a particular allowance, label that assumption rather than presenting a false precision. Likewise, an RFI response should identify the affected drawing or specification, the decision required, the responsible approver and the date by which the answer is needed.
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Communication should be proactive. A party that sees a likely delay, coordination conflict or procurement problem should raise it while alternatives remain available. The agreed escalation route should allow the issue to reach the owner or senior project leaders without turning every disagreement into a formal claim.
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5. Manage risk as a shared, visible process
The framework calls for cross-disciplinary risk workshops and a shared risk register. A useful register records the risk description, potential impact, likelihood, named owner, mitigation, trigger date and current status. Include design, site, safety, schedule, cost, procurement, regulatory and relationship risks as appropriate to the project.
Risk ownership does not erase contract obligations. The owner should participate in appropriate discussions, and the register should distinguish between the person coordinating a mitigation and the party that bears a contractual responsibility. Review the register at defined milestones—such as design submissions, procurement release, mobilization and major inspections—rather than allowing it to become a static spreadsheet.
Use an escalation rule that is understood before a risk becomes an emergency. For example, a team can require immediate senior review when a forecast decision date, budget threshold or safety control is threatened. The exact thresholds belong in the project’s governance plan; the framework’s contribution is to make the route and ownership explicit.
6. Control changes through one common process
Changes are easier to manage when the rules are set before the first urgent field request. Agree who may initiate a change, who reviews technical and cost effects, who approves it, what thresholds require owner action and how the decision is communicated to the people doing the work.
Maintain a common change log with at least these states:
- Proposed: the issue or request has been identified but its effect is still being evaluated.
- Pending: pricing, schedule, design or contractual review is under way.
- Approved: the authorized decision and its implementation instructions are recorded.
- Rejected or withdrawn: the decision and reason are retained so the issue does not reappear as an unexplained request.
Define the required documentation for each state, including sketches, revised specifications, quotations, schedule analysis and authorization. Track why changes arise—design development, owner preference, unforeseen conditions, coordination failure or procurement substitution. That analysis can reveal a process problem to fix on the next package; it should not be used to assign blame without examining the facts.
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7. Use shared digital coordination deliberately
The report identifies BIM and cloud-based platforms as examples of tools that can support shared project information and coordination. The recommendation is about a reliable common environment, not a particular product. Before selecting or configuring a system, agree on naming, permissions, version control, approval status, file locations, model exchange rules and the record that controls if two files conflict.
Digital access cannot substitute for decision rights. A model may show a clash, but the team still needs an identified reviewer, a response date and an authorized resolution. Likewise, uploading a document does not prove that the people responsible for acting on it received and understood the decision.
8. Measure, review and learn
The framework proposes five broad performance pillars: financial outcomes, quality of work, safety, schedule compliance and team satisfaction. Teams can add community impact, sustainability or other measures that matter to the owner and project. Select definitions before collecting data so that “on schedule,” “quality issue” or “team satisfaction” means the same thing to everyone.
| Pillar | Examples of questions to define |
|---|---|
| Financial outcomes | Are forecast cost, approved changes, allowances and contingency being reported on the same basis? |
| Quality of work | How are nonconformances, rework, inspection findings and closeout completion recorded? |
| Safety | Which leading and lagging indicators fit the work, and who reviews corrective actions? |
| Schedule compliance | Which milestones are measured, what baseline is used and how are decision delays distinguished from field production? |
| Team satisfaction | How will the team gather confidential or open feedback about trust, clarity and responsiveness? |
Use a dashboard or scorecard for regular reviews, then hold relationship check-ins rather than waiting for a post-project survey. At closeout, conduct a structured evaluation and place the lessons in a repository that future teams can actually search and use. The point is improvement over successive projects, not a single score that ranks people.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the framework fits different project arrangements
The report does not rank delivery methods or prescribe one contract structure. Owners can adapt the practices by asking when each participant enters, how authority is defined and what information is available at the decision point.
| Implementation question | Why it changes by project | Action for the team |
|---|---|---|
| When do contractors and trade partners join? | Some projects have early preconstruction input; others bring key participants later. | Identify the earliest decision that would benefit from construction or supplier knowledge and set a review date before it. |
| Where is risk documented? | Contract allocation, owner tolerance and project complexity differ. | Keep a shared risk register while preserving the contract’s formal notices and responsibilities. |
| How formal are approvals? | A small project may need a concise log; a large project may require layered review and thresholds. | Scale the change and decision process without removing a clear approver or audit trail. |
| Which tools are practical? | Teams may already use different BIM, document-control or field systems. | Agree on one source of current information and interoperability rules before work begins. |
| What is measured? | Owner priorities and project risks are not identical. | Use the five core pillars, then add project-specific community, sustainability or team measures. |
A staged implementation plan for a project team
The following sequence translates the framework into manageable work without treating it as a new contractual standard.
- Before or at contract formation: The owner identifies project goals, delivery constraints and the participants whose early input is needed. The team confirms how the framework’s practices will sit alongside the contract and existing professional standards.
- At kickoff: Run the alignment workshop, publish the communication and escalation rules, and create an initial responsibility matrix and risk register.
- During design and preconstruction: Invite contractor, trade and supplier reviews at the decisions where constructability, logistics, procurement or sequencing can still change the outcome. Record assumptions and unresolved actions.
- Before procurement and field work: Confirm document-control rules, approval thresholds, change-log fields, model or file coordination and the schedule for risk reviews.
- At each major transition: Reconfirm roles, authority, open risks, decision dates and the information required for the next phase. Update the matrix rather than relying on old meeting minutes.
- During construction: Run the agreed meetings, escalate threats early, keep one change record and review the selected performance measures at a useful frequency.
- At closeout: Evaluate outcomes and relationships, capture lessons and assign owners for improvements that should carry into the next project.
What the framework can—and cannot—prove
The associations say stronger collaboration can contribute to better quality, fewer delays, lower costs and durable relationships. Those are the organizations’ stated reasons for issuing the framework, not quantified findings from a controlled evaluation. The whitepaper and announcements do not report an original reduction in cost, claims, delay or safety incidents attributable to adopting these practices.
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The report includes figures from cited external examples, but those examples are not direct evidence that this AIA–AGC framework produces a specific outcome. Teams should therefore use the recommendations as a governance and learning system, establish their own baseline and report results with the project’s geography, delivery method, measurement period and assumptions attached.
This boundary matters commercially and legally. A workshop, risk register or dashboard can improve visibility and decision discipline; none guarantees a result or changes a party’s underlying contractual duty.
Common failure modes and practical fixes
Inviting the contractor only after key decisions
Symptom: Constructability or procurement concerns arrive as redesign requests. Fix: Identify the design decisions with the greatest sequencing, labor or long-lead exposure and schedule contractor or trade review before release.
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Symptom: The matrix no longer matches the team, phase or delegated work. Fix: Reconfirm roles at design, procurement, mobilization and other agreed transitions.
Calling a meeting “collaborative” without decision rules
Symptom: People attend but leave with different interpretations of who decides and by when. Fix: Publish the agenda, decision owner, response date, record location and escalation path for each material issue.
Using a shared platform without governance
Symptom: Multiple versions circulate and a posted file is mistaken for an approved instruction. Fix: Set permissions, status labels, naming and version rules, and define which record controls.
Treating metrics as a scoreboard for blame
Symptom: Teams stop reporting early warnings or manipulate categories. Fix: Agree definitions, use measures to trigger help and improvement, and examine causes in context.
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What project leaders should take away
AIA and AGC’s framework turns collaboration from a general aspiration into a set of repeatable practices: align the whole team early, bring construction knowledge into design, document authority, communicate before issues harden, manage risk and changes in shared records, coordinate information deliberately and learn from measured results. It is broad enough to adapt to a small project or a complex delivery structure, but specific enough to expose where a team has no owner, no decision date or no escalation route.
Owners should treat those practices as part of project setup and governance. Architects and contractors should use them to make interfaces visible without blurring professional or contractual responsibilities. The result is not a guaranteed saving or a new compliance regime; it is a clearer way to make decisions together and improve the next project using evidence from the last one.
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