Appointing an external adviser

5.3  In deciding whether to appoint external advisers, NHS bodies should consider the following:

•  the skills already available in-house or those which may be developed through training/mentoring (see Chapter 5 of this section);

•  the help available elsewhere within the public sector - eg from guidance, PFCU etc;

•  the complexity and technical requirements of the project.

5.4  For a PPP project, skills may be broadly subdivided into:

•  technical expertise: legal, financial, design and construction, insurance, FM, property or other technical skills (equipment, ICT etc);

•  PPP expertise: knowledge of the process from other projects and experience of issues and their resolution;

•  market knowledge: understanding of how to present the project, who would be interested, what issues the market will be prepared to negotiate on;

•  sector knowledge: understanding of the health care environment and future developments, including knowledge of where risks and costs lie;

•  presentation skills: assistance in the promotion of the projects.