Example contract management plan for large or more complex procurements

Contract Management Plan:

Title and Purpose

Insert title of plan and summarise its purpose. Also include details of name and date of the delegate approving the plan, including arrangements for reviewing and updating the plan.

Contract Structure:

Contract summary

Summarise key contract details, for example, contract number, commencement date, contract term, procurement process (e.g. panel, open tender), delegate details, approved users of the contract, estimated contract value, reporting obligations completed (yes/no).

Background

Provide a brief summary of the procurement process that led to the contract. This may include the purpose, objectives, scope and key deliverables of the contract. Note: information should be detailed enough to allow a person, with no prior involvement in the contract to have a clear understanding of a contract's background.

Documentation

List all documentation relating to the contract that is held by the contract management team. This may include, for example, transition plans, tender evaluation reports, risk management plans etc., and identification of their location and when they were last updated.

Contract term and extension options

List contract start and end dates and contract extension options, if applicable.

Pricing

Total contract value, pricing arrangements and fee variations. If applicable, a fee schedule may also be included.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Contact details

At a minimum, the contract managers for both the acquiring entity and the contractor should be listed with their contact details.

Identified roles and their descriptions

List key stakeholders, where they come from and their major responsibilities in relation to the contract. In some contracts there will be a number of parties with various levels of contractual, financial and reporting involvement. A map of these relationships may be useful for illustrating these relationships.

Stakeholder management and communications strategies

Identify key methods to be used for liaison, reporting, signalling issues to, and building relationships with, key stakeholders identified above.

Conditions of the Contract:

General conditions

Identify if any standard form contract is used (agency specific or whole-of-government, such as Source IT model contracts).

Special conditions

List any special conditions that are not covered elsewhere in this plan. For example, warranties, intellectual property ownership etc.

Contract variations (price, product/services or other)

List contract variations and requirements that need to be met to implement a variation. This should be consistent with the provisions in the contract.

Insurance

Record details of currency and adequacy of insurance certificates and procedures for obtaining evidence from the contractor of future currency.

Financial Considerations:

Payment conditions

Insert any clauses from the contract on payment conditions. The payment schedule should also be described, for example, the schedule may provide for monthly payment, or payment on completion of deliverables.

Incentives or rebates

Describe any incentive arrangements included in the contract and how they are to be calculated.

Penalties or disincentives

Describe any penalties that may be included in the contract and how they are to be calculated and applied.

Invoicing

Detail the invoicing requirements for the contract.

Performance Measurement:

Key performance measures

List key performance measures/indicators to be used for measuring the performance of contract. These should be consistent with the performance measures identified in the tender documentation and the contract.

Performance incentives/ disincentives

List any non-financial performance incentives or disincentives that are applicable to the contract and the key performance indicators that trigger them.

Performance monitoring

Describe the data collection and analysis methods to be used for monitoring and assessing performance (e.g. user surveys, third party accreditation, benchmarking etc.) Also detail who will undertake performance monitoring including: responsibility for collecting and analysing data; how frequently monitoring will take place; the reporting arrangements; and any processes to review the arrangements.

Contract Administration:

Provider's obligations

Detail all obligations the contractor has under the contract. This may include goods or services to be provided, any other deliverables covered by the contract, timeframes to be met, specified personnel, reporting requirements, provision of equipment and back-up arrangements.

Commonwealth's obligations

Detail all obligations the Commonwealth has under the contract. This may include access to premises, security arrangements, information to be made available to the contractor, equipment to be provided, accommodation, feedback and satisfaction reporting, scheduling of meetings.

Product or service standards expected

Detail any requirements included in the contract relating to product or service standards and how they are to be administered.

Compliance management

Detail relevant procurement connected polices and obligations that the entity and the contractor are required to comply with and how these will be managed. Note: the contract manager is responsible for the management of these obligations. It may be useful to include these as an attachment to the plan.

Transition

Include here arrangements for managing any transition and attach transition strategies or plans.

Reporting requirements

List the reporting requirements, for example, what is to be reported and the format/frequency of reporting.

Audit requirements

Detail any requirements for both internal and independent audits, and the elements of the contract to be audited. The timeframe for the audit, along with resources required (in-house or external) should also be identified.

Contractor meetings

Detail a schedule of meetings specific to the contract and the process for inviting and reminding relevant parties.

Risk Assessment and Management Strategy:

Procurement Risk Plan

Include details of earlier risk planning conducted for earlier procurement phases and highlight any risks that carry through to the contract management phase.

Contract Risk Plan

Insert details of contract risk planning, risks and mitigation strategies. Attach the completed contract risk plan to this plan. An example of a contract risk and treatment plan is included in this Guide.

Issue Register

Record any issues (realised risks) that may arise and how they are to be managed, including by whom.

Contract Review

Outline regular reviews (for example, quarterly, annually). Detail how they will be conducted, including what data needs to be collected and by whom.

Outline the trigger point(s) at which contract review becomes necessary due to underperformance.

Dispute Resolution Process

Detail any clauses specified in tender documents and the contract and detail procedures for addressing the dispute.

Termination

Detail any clauses in the contract which may give rise to termination and detail the termination process to be followed.

Contract Review:

Renewal or extension

Outline the process to be followed in assessing whether to renew or extend a contract and the steps that need to be followed as the contract nears expiry.

Contract closure

List the tasks that are required to successfully complete and close the contract. For example, recovery of Commonwealth material and equipment; handover procedures; security and access closure; contract evaluation, including the process and resources required (in-house or external); documentation of lessons learned; and notification to stakeholders.

Attachments:

Depending on the type and scope of the contract a variety of attachments may be required. Examples include compliance management, risk management plans, transition plans, invoicing and payment schedules, service level agreements, and user/ client survey questionnaires.