Spotting ‘concrete boats’: Why ‘solicitation sins’ doom contracts to struggle (part 1)

Photo: Abandoned Concrete Boat – June 10, 2018. Photo credit: Andrew Woodvine via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0. Commentary article by Neil Miller. Niskanen Center – December 8, 2025.

As described in “The How We Need Now,” a “concrete boat” is a project that’s doomed to fail from the outset due to misguided requirements and inappropriate processes. These problems are often visible during the solicitation process for new contracts. Seafaring vessels are christened; concrete boats are born into solicitation sin. This is the first article in a series about government solicitations — and how they can go wrong. Solicitations are formal requests the government puts out for proposals or quotes from prospective suppliers of goods and services. […]

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