78 Almost all PFI projects (99 per cent of 67 respondents) reported that end users were consulted during the design phase. This is important as interview participants highlighted user consultation as a crucial factor in attaining good quality ratings as it helped to ensure the private sector understood the needs of those using the service. One project manager commented: "Involving the head teachers and governors from the two existing schools in some of the progress meetings and the design meetings, actually incorporating them and embodying them very much as part of the core project team worked very, very well".
79 The most common method of user assessment during a project's operational phase is obtaining feedback from a Facilities Maintenance (FM) helpdesk. Forty eight projects reported using this as a tool to assess feedback. This is usually a part of the contractual payment mechanism that exists to receive maintenance jobs and notification of service failures from users. This is generally collected and reported on by the private sector, requiring little effort from the public sector. Analysing complaints is the second most common tool, used by 29 projects, and just 22 projects reported conducting user satisfaction surveys.
80 Those stating they use 'other' forms of user assessment typically mentioned ongoing evaluation of user satisfaction, either in formal meetings with users or informal feedback from key senior users, such as head teachers.