Nils Gransberg, adjunct instructor of Construction Science, was named as a co-principal investigator on a project for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. Gransberg and his team received an NCHRP Synthesis Project Award and a $55,000 grant for the project “Open-books Pricing Practices for Construction Manager/General Contractor and Progressive Design-Build Projects.”
The NCRHP conducts research in problem areas that impact highway planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance. The States’ Highway Research Program works to address common transportation needs and solve problems facing administrators and engineers of state departments of transportation.
For this project, Gransberg and his research team will explore the use of open-books price negotiations by State Departments of Transportation (DOTs). Open-books price negotiations allow clients to review all project costs openly and make price-informed decisions. This type of negotiation has become increasingly popular in construction manager/general contractor and progressive design-build projects.
However, there are currently no guidelines on how to configure open-books price negotiations and the effectiveness of the procedures in use. Through this research, Gransberg and his team will document state DOTs’ pricing and negotiation practices utilized in integrated project delivery methods. The researchers hope to provide guidance on effectively configuring procedures in procurement documents and employing them effectively.
The University of Oklahoma College of Architecture is proud to announce that Model Schools in the Model City, authored by Director of the Institute for Quality Communities, Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., has been named one of ten finalists for the 2026 ASALH Book Prize for Best New Book in African American History and Culture.
This semester, students in the LA 5535 Studio: Ecological Planning and Design, led by Prof. Afsana Sharmin, took on an ambitious hypothetical project to redesign key parts of the OU campus. Their mission: to tackle the critical real-world challenge of stormwater management through innovative green design.
Petya Stefanoff, Chair of the Educational Committee with the American Planning Association, Oklahoma Chapter (APA-OK) and Gibbs College PhD candidate, has developed a new training program for local government officials. The program, focused on land use, zoning principles, and land development, recently certified its first graduates with Certified Citizen Planner status.
