22 Jan 2026
Belonging to a group lets you dive into the topics you’re passionate about, connect with industry experts and level up your engineering career. Members of the Society of Construction Contract Practitioners (SCCP) do exactly that – from Independent Certifiers and Engineers to Contract, to Contract Administrators and other construction professionals, this group is all about driving excellence in contract administration.
Vital statistics
Name: Gavin Shaw
Role: Chairman
Group: The Society of Construction Contract Practitioners (SCCP)
Group’s field or special interest area: Fostering excellence in construction contracts administration and execution.
What value or experiences do members gain from being part of your engineering Group?
Whether we like it or not, all projects are shaped by a construction contract agreement that sets out the promises the parties make to each other. To fulfil those promises the contracted parties must exchange information among themselves. Contract administration is the act of facilitating that exchange of information, providing clear instructions and making informed decisions. It's also the least verified aspect of our construction ecosystem, presenting an opportunity for sustained industry improvement.
SCCP exists to foster excellence in contract administration, bringing together clients, constructors and consultants – who are all active participants in contract delivery – to lift the standard and support efficient and transparent contract communications.
We run networking events, online meetings and webinars, and are establishing a document library with guidelines, case studies, regulatory reviews, legal analysis and much more. Our members are able to access an ever-expanding video library to explore best practices around construction contracts.
Our members receive regular communications about upcoming events, organisational and structural changes and review updates.
We regularly seek and receive feedback to improve knowledge, target training and development and work towards a “best practice” solution for the whole industry. Critical and unique to SCCP is the balanced representation we have across the sector within the Group, with experts contributing client, advisor, trainer/educator and legal field perspectives.
Our members give real-world feedback on changes to Standards (eg NZS:3910/16/17) and submit changes that improve clarity and expectations of New Zealand Standards.
What is your Group Committee most proud of, and why?
Creating a community of people whose project roles contribute to, or are adjacent to, an aspect of contract administration and providing them an opportunity to listen and contribute to the collation of balanced perspectives. Since all participants in construction contracts are influenced by their unique commercial realities, SCCP curates an environment where those perspectives can be shared and understood, quietly confronting some common misconceptions. Our membership is varied and gives access to an impressive calibre of construction professionals. As we grow, we're starting to get asked for more feedback and representation across the sector.
How does your Group work with Engineering New Zealand and other organisations to advance your field or interest area?
We work closely with Engineering New Zealand, who have supported us since our earliest days and have given us access to resources we wouldn't have had as a growing organisation. We also work closely with aligned organisations like the Society of Construction Law, where many of our members are also members and contributors.
How does your Group’s mahi contribute to the lives of Kiwis?
Improving everyone’s knowledge and networks across the construction sector leads to a far better experience, more robust systems, expert level communications and project tracking – not to mention improved timelines and budget controls. We obviously can’t affect certain factors, but our work directly contributes to improvements and deliverables. Part of our membership base, Independent Certifiers, are highly vetted to ensure that the most qualified individuals are celebrated for their expertise.
Project outcomes are inevitably influenced by commercial realities. Through excellence in contract administration activities, together with a greater appreciation of the perspectives of all involved, projects can be delivered more efficiently and with greater predictability. The result? Productivity improvement in a sector that notoriously struggles to find even minor gains.
What’s a common misconception about your field or interest area that your Group would like to correct?
Too often our industry hears phrases like “designers are lazy and can’t coordinate”, or “builders play dumb, tender low and claim high”, or “clients seek risk‑free innovation at no cost”. All comments are naïve, unhelpful and ultimately wrong. They each suggest that an industry fault lies at the feet of those the accusation is aimed at, when each statement is more likely reflecting the commercial realities that party is facing.
For example, the designer is not lazy; they have very likely delivered what their scope and brief required. The builder is not playing dumb; they are very likely responding to a procurement approach that rewards competitive entry pricing without regard to the impact on in‑contract behaviours. And the client is not seeking risk‑free innovation at no cost; they are very likely responding to governance, fiscal and political pressures that drive a “best value, lowest risk” mandate, leaving little room for the commercial flexibility and shared‑risk experimentation that genuine innovation requires.
In contract administration, all three groups must work together to deliver the one thing they have in common: a desire to deliver a project well. SCCP exists to foster excellence in contract administration. That starts by accepting that commercial realities shape the behaviours of all parties, and by asking how each of our roles can support improvements across the whole ecosystem.
What challenge do engineers in your Group’s field or interest area need to solve right now?
Our members span the full project ecosystem: engineers, architects, project managers, cost managers, lawyers, procurement specialists, property managers and leaders in both local government and the private sector. Their shared challenge is also their aspiration: to see projects consistently deliver better outcomes for the industry and the communities they serve.
In practice, this means creating environments where all parties achieve a sustainable, business‑as‑usual commercial outcome, work in teams they would gladly join again, and deliver clearly defined project objectives with fewer disputes and less friction.
Because our members help establish, administer and execute construction contracts, they are uniquely placed to influence this.
What advice does your Group have for the next generation of engineers in Aotearoa?
Great engineers in Aotearoa develop not only strong technical judgment, but a deep appreciation of the commercial realities facing everyone involved in a project. They make a deliberate effort to step into the shoes of clients, contractors, consultants and suppliers to understand why each party might be taking a particular position. Instead of assuming fault lies with “the other side”, they ask: “What can I do, from within my role and discipline, to support better behaviours and outcomes across the whole ecosystem?”
The advice is simple but demanding: learn how contracts actually work in practice, stay curious about the pressures others are under, and use that understanding to adjust how you brief, design, plan and communicate. Over time, this mindset helps shift projects away from blame and towards a culture where commercial settings, technical decisions and human relationships work together to deliver consistently better outcomes.
About the Society of Construction Contract Practitioners (SCCP)
SCCP builds on Engineering New Zealand’s EtC Panel pilot (2022–2023) to lift contract administration practice across the construction sector. The group brings together Engineers to Contract, Engineer’s Representatives, Independent Certifiers, Contract Administrators and other practitioners to strengthen collaboration across roles and standards, promote independent, impartial decision-making, champion best practice and continuous improvement, advance and share knowledge in contract administration and provide a forum for professional connection and discussion.
Our Spotlight On... series showcases Engineering New Zealand’s Groups and their place in Aotearoa New Zealand’s engineering landscape.
