2.9 There is no formula for calculating the size of the Authority team. Surveys of operational projects carried out by Partnerships UK in 2004 and 2005 identified significant variations in the amount of resource allocated to contract management and monitoring. This ranged from a proportion of the time of a single person to a large, dedicated team. The Authority will need to consider:
• whether a single manger is required for groups of assets, or whether the contract would be better served by having a manger for every asset within a grouped PFI project;
• where in the organisation the contract management function will be placed;
• whether there are certain times during the contract life that additional resources may be required, for example during first months of operation in order to deal with any snagging issues, or prior to benchmarking or market testing;
• whether the project manager should be encouraged to stay in place for an agreed period after contract signature, and the need to budget for this;
• the appropriate level and role of support staff;
• the extent and circumstances which may require specialist advice from internal departments or advisers. For example, an Authority may need personnel advice from its human resources department.