• Coventry University logo

Pre-Contract Management for Construction Projects: The Basics

Understand the pre-contract management process for construction projects, considering procurement and tendering.

1,677 enrolled on this course

  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours
This course is part of the program Pre-contract Management Practice, which is one of the building blocks that leads to a degree in MSc Construction Project and Cost Management. Find out more.

Get to grips with pre-contract management in construction

On this course you will get an introduction to pre-contract management practices for construction projects. You will have the opportunity to explore what constitutes procurement and learn the structure of the project stages (according to the RIBA Plan of Work) and how to estimate their cost.

You will also get the chance to build your knowledge of various procurement options and explore the tendering stage: addressing what elements need to be considered when preparing a Bill of Quantities (BoQ), such as taking off and working up.

What topics will you cover?

  • What is procurement?
  • Project stages: RIBA plan of work
  • Review of procurement strategies: traditional, design and build, management contracting, construction management and partnering
  • Tendering: the next important decision – identify/contact suitable organisation to provide the necessary services, expertise and resources
  • Bill of Quantities (BoQ): process of preparing BoQ, taking off, working up

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Describe exactly what is ‘procurement’
  • Discuss the various procurement strategy options available: traditional, design and build, management contracting, construction management and partnering
  • Identify the RIBA work stages within the plan of work with an emphasis on understanding the relationship with the cost estimating stages

Who is the course for?

This course is for students, recent graduates or construction professionals engaged in construction cost and project management, civil and structural engineering, architectural technology, surveying and building services or engineering.

Who will you learn with?

Dingayo, a Fellow of the HEA, holds the position of Assistant Professor in Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management, with over 15 years of experience. His qualifications include a PhD, MSc and BSc

Who developed the course?

Coventry University

Coventry secured 5 QS Stars for Teaching and Online Learning in the QS World University Ranking 2020 and has received No. 1 in the world for Massive Open Online Courses in MoocLab’s World University Ranking 2021.

  • Established

    1992
  • Location

    Coventry

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

Learner reviews

Learner reviews cannot be loaded due to your cookie settings. Please and refresh the page to view this content.

Advance your career with a degree

Since 2017 you have been able to take a degree on FutureLearn. This free course is a bit like a starter course for a degree — it should give you a flavour of the degree subject but can also be your first step towards a degree qualification.

If you enjoy this course you can apply to join the program it’s part of to start working towards a degree on FutureLearn.

Don’t worry, you can still take the course without doing a full degree!

Do the free course
Join and complete the program
Get academic credit for an online degree from Coventry University
This course is part of the program Pre-contract Management Practice, which is one of the building blocks that leads to a degree in MSc Construction Project and Cost Management.

Do you know someone who'd love this course? Tell them about it...

You can use the hashtag #precontractmanagement to talk about this course on social media.