How does CoST work?
CoST provides for the disclosure of material project information on a selection of construction projects. ‘Material’ in this context is intended to indicate that sufficient information be provided to enable stakeholders to make informed judgements about the cost and quality of the infrastructure concerned. The disclosures include, for example, a description of the project; its purpose and location and, at the implementation stage, summary details of the original and final: project specification, project cost, contractor and completion dates.
The disclosures also include justification for any significant differences between the original and final information, as well as project evaluation and completion reports. Disclosure of raw information on its own is unlikely to be sufficient to achieve greater accountability due to its complexity. The disclosures need to be reviewed and analysed to ensure that they are comprehensible to all stakeholders. CoST introduces a structure to meet this need.
