In addition to the contractual provisions on communications there will be many other issues relating to communications between the Authority and the Contractor which will need to be addressed. To ensure that good communications are maintained on a day-to-day operating basis, a number of contact points will be needed at different levels - normally on a peer to peer basis. However, it is important that the various communications channels are properly managed so that the responsibilities of parties are not confused and a clear decision-making process is adhered to.
Therefore the Contract Management Manual should include a communications protocol to facilitate the coordination of communications between the parties. The protocol should include:
• a list of all meeting types, specifying the attendees, the purpose of the meetings etc;
• contact details for key individuals;
• procedures to be used during emergencies and contingency arrangements;
• procedures for dealing with FoI Requests (see Section 7.10);
• special procedures to be adopted when the Contractor is bidding for another contract with the Authority;
• procedures for approving public announcements related to the Service; and
• rules regarding the use of e mail communication which take account of the fact that e mails are not always subject to internal sign-off procedures before being sent and are often not subject to the same filing regimes as more formal correspondence.