During the procurement period the Authority's internal expertise is usually supplemented by the use of external advisers for areas where the specialist skills are not available in house. Well before Contract signature the Contract Manager should ensure plans are in place to execute a transfer of knowledge and any relevant documents and or models from advisers to Authority staff at, or shortly after, Contract signature.
During the post close period the Contract Management Team should always use in-house support when the required expertise is available. However it should also be recognised that external advice will still be required when the appropriate expertise is not available in-house. WIDP recommends that Authorities retain an option (but not an obligation) to use the advisers employed during the procurement period in the post close period. The best rates for on-going support in the post close period will be obtained where Authorities procure advice in open competition. Hence ideally this service requirement should be included from the outset when specifying the scope of the advisers' mandate prior to their appointment.
If advisers have already been appointed and post close support has not been included in the scope of the service procured then the Authority should consider carefully whether support for the post close period can be added to the scope of service without the need for a separate procurement. In any event these issues should be addressed well before financial close so that there is no period when the Authority does not have access to its advisers.
Whilst the advisers for the procurement period will be familiar with the procurement and hence well placed to advise on post close issues this advantage could be eroded over time if key staff leave the organisation and/or the adviser's knowledge management systems do not provide it with a strong corporate memory. Before they are appointed advisers should be asked to provide details of how they will maintain quality of advice over time and minimise the cost (to the Authority) of having to use new staff who need time to familiarise themselves with the project.
If Authorities would like to know which advisers have advised which Authorities on procuring waste PFIs projects, they can contact WIDP for this information.
The Contracts with advisers for this should be reviewed on a regular basis, preferably at no more than four year intervals.
It is difficult to forecast far in advance how much external support will be needed, but the lists below provides an indication of the work which may be required in the post close period. Estimated costs for external advisers should be factored into the Authority's budget for contract management.