Inspired by the success of the project delivery approach for infrastructure for the 2012 Olympics Summer Games in London that came in on time, under budget and without any deaths, procurement staffers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory decided to apply a new idea of their own.

The needs of the Golden, Colo.-based U.S. Dept. of Energy research agency are significantly different from those of the $10-billion global sports event that attracted thousands of participants and attendees. But Brittany Decker, NREL director of acquisition services, says its contracting experts saw commonalities with the Olympics project's complexity and its goals relating to safety, sustainability and partnership.