Facilitating a no-blame culture through project alliancing

Innovation occurs within the safety of a no-blame culture yet we see surprisingly scant literature on how this is facilitated within a construction project management context. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how innovation and promotion of innovative thinking in action is enabled through a no-blame culture in project alliances in Australia. We argue that innovation is dependent upon collaboration and true collaboration is inextricable linked to behavioural drivers. Foremost of these is a culture of openness and willingness to share the pain and gain from experimentation. Further, this culture requires that collaborators be protected from the threat of being blamed and held accountable for experimental failure. We draw upon theory and data gathered over several recent research studies on the experience of project alliances in Australia. The project alliance procurement form has a unique ‘no-blame’ behavioural contract clause that is crucial in developing a collaborative culture where innovation can evolve through a process of trial and error.