There are a number of key roles that need to be performed for an alliance to be developed and delivered successfully. There are elements of these roles which are unique to alliance contracting as outlined below and addressed in more detail in Chapter 4. This chapter also discusses the roles of specialist advisers that may be employed to support the Owner or the alliance.
Table 2.1 below outlines the roles of the Participants in planning and delivery stages during an alliance project.
Table 2.1: Selected planning and delivery steps
| Role in project lifecycle | 1. Business Case | 2. Owner's VfM Statement | 3. Tender Processes & PAA | 4. The Alliance (Project Delivery) | 5. VfM Report (Project implementation review) |
| Government | Determines investment priorities and approves specific Business Cases. Provides funding (and/or underwrites risks). | Provides funding (and/or underwrites risks). | Provides funding (and/or underwrites risks). May have approval rights for specified tender milestones. | Provides funding (and/or underwrites risks). Receives progress reports from Owner (against original Business Case). | Receives formal VfM Report from Owner which assesses VfM outcomes against approved Business Case. |
| Identifies community need and possible solutions for funding by state. Prepares the Business Case. | Within the Business Case approvals, clearly articulates project parameters, objectives and budget; in the project's 'Owner's VfM Statement'. | Incorporates the Business Case/VfM Statement into the body of tender documents. Develops the tender criteria as part of NOP evaluation and selection. | Maintains active informed commercial engagement in the alliance. Provides suitable representatives to be part of the alliance. | Prepares a post implementation review of the alliance project. Prepares the VfM Report. | |
| Alliance | No role. | No role. | Aligns commercial and project objectives and agrees to PAA to deliver on Owner's VfM Statement and other tender requirements. | Provides regular project progress reporting to Owner. | Project documentation available to support post implementation review process. |
Government: Public construction projects are ultimately funded and/or underwritten by the government (i.e. parliament/government) and the Owner acts under authority from the government 23.
Owner: the government agency responsible for delivery of the investment objectives set out in the Business Case for the project.
Owner's Representative (OR): The Owner will nominate a senior executive who sits outside of the alliance and is the key point of liaison between the Owner and the alliance. This person does not play a role inside the alliance.
Owner Participants (OPs): the Owner will nominate one or more representatives to be members of the Alliance Leadership Team (ALT). The Owner Participants (OPs), normally agency employees, have the same rights and responsibilities to the alliance as all other NOP members of the ALT.
Alliance Leadership Team (ALT): This is the leadership team which operates similarly to a Divisional Executive Group. The Owner and each NOP will have representation on this team with all members having equal rights and responsibilities. Typically members of the ALT are senior executives from each Participant.
Alliance Manager (AM): This person is selected by the ALT to lead the alliance. The AM reports to the ALT and is responsible for the delivery of the project. Typically this person is a highly experienced project manager from a NOP and chairs the AMT.
Alliance Management Team (AMT): This is the management team responsible for day-to-day delivery of the project. The Owner and NOPs will each have at least one representative on this team. This team is led by the AM.
Alliance Project Team (APT): This the integrated, collaborative team of NOPs and Owner's professional and support staff that plan, design and manage construction and delivery of all aspects of the Owner's VfM Statement.
_________________________________________________________________________________
23 Refer to Guidance Note No 4, Reporting VfM Outcomes, Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Commonwealth of Australia, March 2011, for additional information.