diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index e083811db..2d71ff065 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ charts/
 # Prevent copying scripts that are unused in docker
 scripts/
 !scripts/test.sh
-!scripts/configure.sh
+!scripts/install-build-tools.sh
+!scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
 !scripts/test-transaction.sh
 !scripts/wait-for-it.sh
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 6efc008d0..cf85442c4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -25,8 +25,10 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v2
         with:
           submodules: recursive
-      - name: Configure
-        run: sudo ./scripts/configure.sh
+      - name: Setup Build Env
+        run: sudo ./scripts/install-build-tools.sh
+      - name: Setup Local Dependencies
+        run: ./scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
       - name: Build
         run: scripts/build.sh
   lint:
@@ -36,8 +38,10 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v2
         with:
           submodules: recursive
-      - name: Configure
-        run: sudo ./scripts/configure.sh
+      - name: Setup Build Env
+        run: sudo ./scripts/install-build-tools.sh
+      - name: Setup Local Dependencies
+        run: ./scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
       - name: Build
         run: scripts/build.sh
       - name: Lint
@@ -50,8 +54,10 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v2
         with:
           submodules: recursive
-      - name: Configure
-        run: sudo ./scripts/configure.sh
+      - name: Setup Build Env
+        run: sudo ./scripts/install-build-tools.sh
+      - name: Setup Local Dependencies
+        run: ./scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
       - name: Build
         run: scripts/build.sh
       - name: Run Unit Tests
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 433657a75..ca0adf668 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ doxygen_generated
 # Default build folder
 build/
 
+# Default dependency installation folder
+prefix/
+
 # 3rd party generated files
 3rdparty/secp256k1_genctx
 3rdparty/src/ecmult_static_context.h
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 2dd8d679f..1e8f84695 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -49,6 +49,10 @@ set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -fno-rtti")
 
 include_directories(3rdparty 3rdparty/secp256k1/include /usr/lib /usr/local/lib /usr/local/include /opt/homebrew/include)
 
+if(DEFINED CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH)
+    include_directories(SYSTEM "${CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH}/include")
+endif()
+
 if(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Debug")
     add_compile_options(-fprofile-arcs -ftest-coverage)
 endif()
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 5ee30d0b8..a7c3f934b 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -14,12 +14,14 @@ ENV BUILD_RELEASE 1
 
 RUN mkdir -p /opt/tx-processor/scripts
 
-COPY scripts/configure.sh /opt/tx-processor/scripts/configure.sh
+COPY scripts/install-build-tools.sh /opt/tx-processor/scripts/install-build-tools.sh
+COPY scripts/setup-dependencies.sh /opt/tx-processor/scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
 
 # Set working directory
 WORKDIR /opt/tx-processor
 
-RUN scripts/configure.sh
+RUN scripts/install-build-tools.sh
+RUN scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
 
 # Create Build Image
 FROM $BASE_IMAGE AS builder
@@ -30,7 +32,7 @@ COPY . .
 # Build binaries
 RUN mkdir build && \
     cd build && \
-    cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} .. && \
+    cmake -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="prefix" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} .. && \
     make -j$(nproc)
 
 # Create 2PC Deployment Image
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3dee15f7c..7b6162ce0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -69,24 +69,33 @@ If you want to dive straight in, take a look at our issue tracker's list of [goo
 1. Clone the repository (including submodules)
     - `git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/mit-dci/opencbdc-tx`
 
-# Build
+# Setup the build envirnoment
 
 Use these directions if you want to build the source on your machine.
 If you just want to run the system, see "Run the Code" below.
 
-1. Install the necessary libraries and resources
-  ```terminal
-  # ./scripts/configure.sh
-  ```
+1. Setup the build-environment.
+   Note that this script is just a convenience to install system-wide dependencies we expect.
+   As a result, it uses the system package manager, requires `sudo`, and should only be run **once**.
+   ```console
+   # ./scripts/install-build-tools.sh
+   ```
+1. Setup project dependencies
+   This script builds and installs a local copy of several build-dependencies which are not widely packaged.
+   Because it installs to a local, configurable prefix (defaulting to `./prefix`), it does not need root permissions to run.
+   Furthermore, it should always be safe to delete `prefix` and rerun this script.
+   ```console
+   $ ./scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
+   ```
 1. Run the build
-  ```terminal
-  # ./scripts/build.sh
-  ```
+   ```console
+   $ ./scripts/build.sh
+   ```
 
 ## macOS
 Note that if you have not already installed the xcode cli tools you will need to:
 
-```terminal
+```console
 # xcode-select --install
 ```
 # Run the Code
@@ -100,11 +109,11 @@ See the [PArSEC User Guide](docs/parsec_user_guide.md)
 Running Unit & Integration Tests
 
 1. Build all docker images
-   ```terminal
+   ```console
    $ ./scripts/build-docker.sh
    ```
 1. Run Unit & Integration Tests
-   ```terminal
+   ```console
    $ docker run -ti opencbdc-tx-builder ./scripts/test.sh
    ```
 
diff --git a/scripts/build.sh b/scripts/build.sh
index ccfbfac97..6a1a2f158 100755
--- a/scripts/build.sh
+++ b/scripts/build.sh
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ set -e
 
 echo "Building..."
 
+# see PREFIX in ./scripts/configure.sh
+PREFIX="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"/.. && pwd)/prefix"
+
 if [ -z ${BUILD_DIR+x} ]; then
     export BUILD_DIR=build
 fi
@@ -10,14 +13,14 @@ fi
 mkdir -p $BUILD_DIR
 cd $BUILD_DIR
 
-CMAKE_FLAGS=""
+CMAKE_FLAGS=-DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="${PREFIX}"
 CPUS=1
 if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
     CPUS=$(grep -c ^processor /proc/cpuinfo)
 elif [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
     CPUS=$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu)
     XCODE_CMDLINE_DIR=$(xcode-select -p)
-    CMAKE_FLAGS+="-DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=${XCODE_CMDLINE_DIR}/usr/bin/clang -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=${XCODE_CMDLINE_DIR}/usr/bin/clang++ -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS=-isystem\ /usr/local/include -DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON"
+    CMAKE_FLAGS+=" -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=${XCODE_CMDLINE_DIR}/usr/bin/clang -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=${XCODE_CMDLINE_DIR}/usr/bin/clang++ -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS=-isystem\ /usr/local/include -DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON"
 fi
 
 CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Debug"
diff --git a/scripts/install-build-tools.sh b/scripts/install-build-tools.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..5a96b4286
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/install-build-tools.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+echo "Setting up build environment..."
+
+green="\033[0;32m"
+cyan="\033[0;36m"
+end="\033[0m"
+
+set -e
+
+SUDO=''
+if (( $EUID != 0 )); then
+    echo -e "non-root user, sudo required"
+    SUDO='sudo'
+fi
+
+if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
+  CPUS=$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu)
+  # ensure development environment is set correctly for clang
+  $SUDO xcode-select -switch /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools
+  brew install llvm@14 googletest google-benchmark lcov make wget cmake curl
+  CLANG_TIDY=/usr/local/bin/clang-tidy
+  if [ ! -L "$CLANG_TIDY" ]; then
+    $SUDO ln -s $(brew --prefix)/opt/llvm@14/bin/clang-tidy /usr/local/bin/clang-tidy
+  fi
+  GMAKE=/usr/local/bin/gmake
+  if [ ! -L "$GMAKE" ]; then
+    $SUDO ln -s $(xcode-select -p)/usr/bin/gnumake /usr/local/bin/gmake
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
+  $SUDO apt update
+  $SUDO apt install -y build-essential wget cmake libgtest-dev libbenchmark-dev lcov git software-properties-common rsync unzip
+
+  wget -O - https://apt.llvm.org/llvm-snapshot.gpg.key | $SUDO apt-key add -
+  $SUDO add-apt-repository "deb http://apt.llvm.org/focal/ llvm-toolchain-focal-14 main"
+  $SUDO apt install -y clang-format-14 clang-tidy-14
+  $SUDO ln -s -f $(which clang-format-14) /usr/local/bin/clang-format
+  $SUDO ln -s -f $(which clang-tidy-14) /usr/local/bin/clang-tidy
+fi
+
+PYTHON_TIDY=/usr/local/bin/run-clang-tidy.py
+if [ ! -f "${PYTHON_TIDY}" ]; then
+  echo -e "${green}Copying run-clang-tidy to /usr/local/bin${end}"
+  wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/llvm/llvm-project/e837ce2a32369b2e9e8e5d60270c072c7dd63827/clang-tools-extra/clang-tidy/tool/run-clang-tidy.py
+  $SUDO mv run-clang-tidy.py /usr/local/bin
+fi
diff --git a/scripts/configure.sh b/scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
similarity index 60%
rename from scripts/configure.sh
rename to scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
index 5cb67d807..1e20e131b 100755
--- a/scripts/configure.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-echo "Configuring..."
-
-echo "test local pipeline changes"
+echo "Setting up dependencies..."
 
 green="\033[0;32m"
 cyan="\033[0;36m"
@@ -10,11 +8,13 @@ end="\033[0m"
 
 set -e
 
-SUDO=''
-if (( $EUID != 0 )); then
-    echo -e "non-root user, sudo required"
-    SUDO='sudo'
-fi
+# install in a custom prefix rather than /usr/local. by default, this
+# chooses "prefix" directory alongside "scripts" where configure.sh
+# resides.
+
+PREFIX="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"/.. && pwd)/prefix"
+echo "Will install local dependencies in the following prefix: $PREFIX"
+mkdir -p $PREFIX $PREFIX/lib $PREFIX/include
 
 CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Debug"
 if [[ "$BUILD_RELEASE" == "1" ]]; then
@@ -26,28 +26,6 @@ if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
   CPUS=$(grep -c ^processor /proc/cpuinfo)
 elif [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
   CPUS=$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu)
-  # ensure development environment is set correctly for clang
-  $SUDO xcode-select -switch /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools
-  brew install llvm@14 googletest google-benchmark lcov make wget cmake curl
-  CLANG_TIDY=/usr/local/bin/clang-tidy
-  if [ ! -L "$CLANG_TIDY" ]; then
-    $SUDO ln -s $(brew --prefix)/opt/llvm@14/bin/clang-tidy /usr/local/bin/clang-tidy
-  fi
-  GMAKE=/usr/local/bin/gmake
-  if [ ! -L "$GMAKE" ]; then
-    $SUDO ln -s $(xcode-select -p)/usr/bin/gnumake /usr/local/bin/gmake
-  fi
-fi
-
-if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
-  apt update
-  apt install -y build-essential wget cmake libgtest-dev libbenchmark-dev lcov git software-properties-common rsync unzip
-
-  wget -O - https://apt.llvm.org/llvm-snapshot.gpg.key | $SUDO apt-key add -
-  $SUDO add-apt-repository "deb http://apt.llvm.org/focal/ llvm-toolchain-focal-14 main"
-  $SUDO apt install -y clang-format-14 clang-tidy-14
-  $SUDO ln -s -f $(which clang-format-14) /usr/local/bin/clang-format
-  $SUDO ln -s -f $(which clang-tidy-14) /usr/local/bin/clang-tidy
 fi
 
 LEVELDB_VERSION="1.23"
@@ -58,9 +36,9 @@ tar xzvf ${LEVELDB_VERSION}.tar.gz
 rm -rf ${LEVELDB_VERSION}.tar.gz
 mv leveldb-${LEVELDB_VERSION} "leveldb-${LEVELDB_VERSION}-${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}"
 cd "leveldb-${LEVELDB_VERSION}-${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}"
-cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} -DLEVELDB_BUILD_TESTS=0 -DLEVELDB_BUILD_BENCHMARKS=0 -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=0 -DHAVE_SNAPPY=0 .
+cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} -DLEVELDB_BUILD_TESTS=0 -DLEVELDB_BUILD_BENCHMARKS=0 -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=0 -DHAVE_SNAPPY=0 .
 make -j$CPUS
-$SUDO make install
+make install
 cd ..
 
 NURAFT_VERSION="1.3.0"
@@ -82,29 +60,22 @@ if [[ "$BUILD_RELEASE" == "1" ]]; then
 fi
 mkdir -p build
 cd build
-cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} -DDISABLE_SSL=1 ..
+cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} -DDISABLE_SSL=1 ..
 make -j$CPUS static_lib
 
-echo -e "${green}Copying nuraft to /usr/local"
-$SUDO cp libnuraft.a /usr/local/lib
-$SUDO cp -r ../include/libnuraft /usr/local/include
+echo -e "${green}Copying nuraft to $PREFIX/lib and $PREFIX/include${end}"
+cp libnuraft.a $PREFIX/lib
+cp -r ../include/libnuraft $PREFIX/include
 
 cd ../..
 
-PYTHON_TIDY=/usr/local/bin/run-clang-tidy.py
-if [ ! -f "${PYTHON_TIDY}" ]; then
-  echo -e "${green}Copying run-clang-tidy to /usr/local/bin"
-  wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/llvm/llvm-project/e837ce2a32369b2e9e8e5d60270c072c7dd63827/clang-tools-extra/clang-tidy/tool/run-clang-tidy.py
-  $SUDO mv run-clang-tidy.py /usr/local/bin
-fi
-
 wget https://www.lua.org/ftp/lua-5.4.3.tar.gz
 rm -rf lua-5.4.3
 tar zxf lua-5.4.3.tar.gz
 rm -rf lua-5.4.3.tar.gz
 cd lua-5.4.3
 make -j$CPUS
-$SUDO make install
+make INSTALL_TOP=$PREFIX install
 cd ..
 
 if [[ "$OSTYPE" != "darwin"* ]]; then
@@ -116,9 +87,9 @@ if [[ "$OSTYPE" != "darwin"* ]]; then
   rm -rf curl-${CURL_VERSION}.tar.gz
   mkdir -p curl-${CURL_VERSION}/build
   cd curl-${CURL_VERSION}/build
-  ../configure --disable-shared --without-ssl --without-libpsl --without-libidn2 --without-brotli --without-zstd --without-zlib
+  ../configure --prefix="${PREFIX}" --disable-shared --without-ssl --without-libpsl --without-libidn2 --without-brotli --without-zstd --without-zlib
   make -j$CPUS
-  $SUDO make install
+  make install
   cd ../..
 fi
 
@@ -129,9 +100,9 @@ tar xzvf ${JSONCPP_VERSION}.tar.gz
 rm -rf ${JSONCPP_VERSION}.tar.gz
 mkdir -p jsoncpp-${JSONCPP_VERSION}/build
 cd jsoncpp-${JSONCPP_VERSION}/build
-cmake .. -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=NO -DBUILD_STATIC_LIBS=YES -DJSONCPP_WITH_TESTS=OFF -DJSONCPP_WITH_POST_BUILD_UNITTEST=OFF
+cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}" -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=NO -DBUILD_STATIC_LIBS=YES -DJSONCPP_WITH_TESTS=OFF -DJSONCPP_WITH_POST_BUILD_UNITTEST=OFF
 make -j$CPUS
-$SUDO make install
+make install
 cd ../..
 
 # NOTE: evmc v10.0.0 requires evmone v0.9.0
@@ -144,9 +115,9 @@ rm v${EVMC_VER}.zip
 cd evmc-${EVMC_VER}
 mkdir build
 cd build
-cmake ..
+cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}" ..
 make -j$CPUS
-$SUDO make install
+make install
 cd ../..
 
 # NOTE: updating evmone to v0.10.0 requires c++20
@@ -161,13 +132,13 @@ mv ../evmc-${EVMC_VER} ./evmc
 mkdir ./evmc/.git
 if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
   # Mac Silicon: clang 'ar' does not allow empty member list, fails w/ -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF
-  cmake -S . -B build
+  cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}"
 else
-  cmake -S . -B build -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF
+  cmake -S . -B build -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}"
 fi
 cmake --build build --parallel
 cd build
-$SUDO make install
+make install
 cd ../..
 rm -rf evmone-${EVMONE_VER}
 
@@ -180,8 +151,8 @@ mkdir build
 cd build
 cmake -DETHASH_BUILD_ETHASH=OFF -DETHASH_BUILD_TESTS=OFF ..
 cmake --build . --parallel
-$SUDO cp ./lib/keccak/libkeccak.a /usr/local/lib
-$SUDO cp -r ../include/ethash /usr/local/include
+cp ./lib/keccak/libkeccak.a $PREFIX/lib
+cp -r ../include/ethash $PREFIX/include
 cd ../..
 
 wget https://gnu.askapache.com/libmicrohttpd/libmicrohttpd-0.9.75.tar.gz
@@ -191,8 +162,8 @@ rm libmicrohttpd-0.9.75.tar.gz
 cd libmicrohttpd-0.9.75
 mkdir build
 cd build
-../configure --disable-curl --disable-examples --disable-doc --disable-shared --disable-https
+../configure --prefix="${PREFIX}" --disable-curl --disable-examples --disable-doc --disable-shared --disable-https
 make -j $CPUS
-$SUDO make install
+make install
 cd ../../
 rm -rf libmicrohttpd-0.9.75