The methodology for the project included an extensive literature review from resources that were available internationally, past studies related to the topic, collection of information via the internet, a "Questionnaire" that was completed by the experts from their respective countries, and probably most importantly - personal meetings with the experts during the country visits. One reason for the questionnaire and actual country visits is the limited amount of information publicly available, several instances of older or somewhat outdated reports and resources, and recent developments and upstarts to these approaches in the road sector that have not been documented. Also, the first author's past research projects, procurement experience, and expertise is used to complement the details gathered in the study Pakkala (2002).
The various aspects of contracting included in this report are capital investment projects, maintenance contracting, resurfacing contracts, design/civil engineering services, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), quality/public values, and performance measures and indicators. In order to receive the most benefit and more holistic approach, the questionnaires and country visits included meetings with the client organizations, contractors or services providers, design/civil engineering professionals and some experts from universities and research affiliations. As a result of the first author being from the Finnish Road Administration, it was very efficient and quite effective to gather a large amount of information from a road authority's perspective, practices, and ideas upon improving the process. That being said, it was essential to maintain as much as possible, an impartial view.