3. Implementing the contract and running services

There are many lessons that can be learnt about improving the way PFI is implemented at the local level. The need to create partnerships within robust governance, incentive and compliance frameworks, and improve communication between the many different people involved, are the most important.

38  With contracts lasting for 25 to 30 years, PFI will affect the school life of successive generations. It is difficult for those involved in developing projects to predict the practical implementation issues that will lie beyond the technicalities of doing a deal. But it is crucial that they try to do so, because PFI providers will ultimately be remembered for the longer-term quality of their FM services and any design defects, rather than the initial excitement of a new school building. The focus of this chapter is, therefore, on how to manage local processes better.I We start with the difficulties that can arise when implementing the contract, and how implementation could be improved. These issues are dealt with in sequence, starting with how best to manage relationships among the many different people who begin to be involved right from the start, and ending with what happens after the buildings are open if services are not provided to the specified standards. The chapter then considers how to manage the provision of FM services and how to achieve design, build and operate (DBO) synergies.

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I  Some of these lessons would also apply to traditional procurement, but this chapter focuses mainly on their application to PFI schemes.