An agency may have satisfied the public interest7 in managing the public funds used to deliver an alliance project efficiently, economically and effectively, but it is also important that the agency is actually 'seen' to have achieved this. This means that the agency should, independently from the alliance, verify and ensure that the public interest is being protected throughout the life of the alliance.
Alliance contracting relies on parties acting with the highest levels of integrity and having open and transparent information-sharing about opportunities and risks for optimising the government's agreed outcomes. Alliancing usually incorporates the 'open-book' principle and, for this to be effective, it is important for agencies to have advisers who are able to fully understand and provide advice on the open-book details, independently of the alliance. The agency will benefit from this independent advice by having clear project specifications, accessing benchmarking data and understanding how project costs have been built up.
Before making any commitments to proceed, or signing any form of contract with any preferred party, the agency should satisfy itself that the final (or negotiated) tender proposal is cost-effective, total pricing is consistent with best-in-market values and the project deliverables are consistent with the approved business case. It is important that the state's legal position and its commercial exposure are always transparent and well understood by the agency.
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7 The NSW Ombudsman (in Public Sector Agencies fact sheet No 16, June 2005) described the concept of the 'public interest' as referring to considerations affecting the good order and functioning of the community and government affairs, for the wellbeing of citizens. It is generally recognised that the phrase is incapable of precise definition, as there is no single and immutable public interest.