In accordance with WIDP guidance20, the SRO is the individual who is appointed to represent the project's interests outside the contract management structure. (S)he provides the vital link between the Contract Management Team and the corporate governance structure of the Authority. (S)he should also be the Authority's strategic lead in respect of on-going working and communications with Defra, especially for PFI projects where Defra is part funding the project. As such the SRO needs to have:
Executive authority - the ultimate authority to deliver the project demanding an appropriate status within the Authority, usually associated with the Chief Executive or Strategic Board member, and explicit and sufficient delegated powers.
Leadership qualities - this is essential for the successful delivery of waste PFI/PPP projects which are characteristically high profile and often controversial, and
Accountability - personal accountability for delivering the desired project outcome and its success.
A key responsibility of the SRO is the organisation and chairing of the Authority's Contract Management Board meetings.21 To that end, it will be essential that the SRO arranges that all Board meetings are appropriately administered with Board papers of sufficient quality and clear and accurate recording of minutes. Other responsibilities include:
• Tensuring that the appropriate project governance arrangements are in place for each stage of the project;
• controlling project expenditure;
• embedding quality assurance policies and procedures in the delivery of the Contract, leading on communications and consultations strategy; and
• ensuring adherence to the business case unless variations are expressly approved by the SRO and the Authority as appropriate.
The SRO should also be the lead representative of the Authority on the Liaison Committee (See Section 6.2.2) and responsible for securing any associated decisions of the Authority as may be agreed at the Joint Liaison Committee. The SRO will also be responsible for ensuring that the necessary and appropriate budget provision for the Contract is maintained within the Authority's financial plan(s).
In addition, the SRO should co-ordinate the relationships between the waste PFI/PPP project and other projects within a broader Authority programme, especially in terms of project interfaces and interdependences, relative timings, timely availability of resources and the management of key risks. The absence of an individual clearly designated as SRO has been linked with problems that have arisen with other projects affecting their successful delivery.
A key continuing role for successor SROs will be to maintain an appropriate summary version of the FBC, up-dated as appropriate, which highlights the key objectives and strategic context for the Contract; the principal commercial, financial and technical aspects governing the delivery of the Contract; the basis of the Contract in respect of procurement law; and a record of all Changes to the Contract made in accordance with the Change Protocol. This document will be an important tool of the SRO and the Authority for the transfer of knowledge to successor SROs and for successor Authority administrations and leading Members for the Contract duration.
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20 WIDP Guidance on project governance is available online at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/local-authorities/widp/widp-procurement-pack/
21 It may be appropriate for someone more senior than the SRO to chair particular meetings, but responsibility for organising and chairing these meetings should not be delegated to someone more junior than the SRO.