86 Prior experience was said to be an important factor by interview participants in ensuring the smooth running of a project, and in helping the construction phase deliver to timetable and contracted price. Accumulating PFI experience in teams was also thought to lead to better value for money in the long term; for example project managers would know what they needed from their contractors, could write better tender documents, and therefore attract better quality bids.
87 Many contract managers stressed the importance of maintaining a consistent team throughout a project. The loss of team members, with the experience and knowledge they can bring to the project, often meant that projects did not run as smoothly as they might otherwise have done. Thus, keeping a team together throughout the procurement and construction phase was often recommended.
88 Similarly, high staff turnover among project teams and the subsequent loss of 'corporate memory' was highlighted as a contributory factor in poor project management in some cases. Indeed, some of the project managers spoke of how, in the early years of PFI, after the contract was agreed many of the team involved in the procurement would leave to do other work (often, for instance, they were just on secondment from somewhere else, for example, the Local Authority). Given that the contracts were so complex, this lack of knowledge transfer was sometimes problematic.
89 These issues have also been identified in past NAO reports. In response to our report on Improving the PFI tendering process10, the PAC concluded that there was a continuing lack of PFI experience and skills within public procurement teams across the public sector. Staff continuity has also been identified as an issue in a number of our case study reports. For example:
• Allocation and management of risk in Ministry of Defence PFI projects11 found that there was a lack of staff continuity in some of the case study projects the NAO examined.
• PFI: The STEPS Deal12 and its associated PAC report13 recommended that departments should avoid moving contract managers unnecessarily.
90 The importance of strong project management and teamwork was raised consistently as being a key determinant of whether a project was delivered to timetable and to the contracted price. The issue of the need for strong project management is not just restricted to PFI. In our report on Estimating and monitoring the costs of building roads in England14 , we highlighted the need for increased numbers of skilled project managers and commercial staff in the Highways Agency.
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10 NAO Report. Improving the PFI tendering process, (HC 149, 2006-07).
11 NAO Report. Allocation and management of risk in Ministry of Defence PFI projects, (HC 343, 2007-08).
12 NAO Report. PFI: The STEPS Deal, (HC 530, 2003-04).
13 PFI: The STEPS deal. Committee of Public Accounts, (20th report 2003-2004, HC 553).
14 NAO Report. Estimating and monitoring the costs of building roads in England, (HC 321, 2006-07).