CIAT signs Conflict Avoidance Pledge

It has been signed by over 100 organisations throughout the construction industry. CIAT’s signing of it signifies the Institute’s commitment to protecting clients’ and practitioners’ interests by reducing cost, delay, and reputational damage from disputes.

CIAT has also joined the Conflict Avoidance Coalition Steering Group (CACSG), which allows knowledge sharing, promoting best practices, and supporting early resolution methods, with the aim of making the industry more resilient, efficient, and productive. As a signatory, the Institute now formally encourages the Pledge's principles and is part of the Coalition’s Conflict Avoidance list of Professional Institutions.

Usman Yaqub PCIAT, President of the Institute, said:

The built environment is under increasing scrutiny, and rebuilding trust requires a collective commitment to higher standards and behaviours. CIAT’s formal adoption of the Conflict Avoidance Pledge demonstrates our support for proactive dispute management and early resolution. We believe that strengthening collaboration across the supply chain ultimately protects clients, improves project delivery and reinforces confidence in our profession.

We therefore encourage Chartered Practices to demonstrate their support by embedding dispute avoidance principles into their day-to-day practice, committing to early engagement and collaborative resolution, and formally signing the Pledge as a public statement of that commitment.

When practices become signatories to the Pledge they are placed on the Conflict Avoidance Directory and are recognised at either bronze, silver or gold levels, depending on their commitment. Another benefit is access to the RICS Conflict Avoidance Process (CAP), which offers a structured but flexible early intervention pathway involving a neutral expert investigating issues and providing a non-binding, reasoned recommendation that aims to resolve emerging conflicts before they escalate to formal dispute mechanisms.