The Owner acts in the following two distinct roles during the selection process and delivery phase of an alliance:
1. The Owner: the Owner ('outside the alliance') is ultimately responsible for delivering the service outcome to the government (as set out in the Business Case). The Owner may be the Minister, the departmental head, the agency's CEO or board; and
2. The Alliance Participant: the Owner acts as part of the alliance ('inside the alliance') through the Owner's Participants (OPs), who have been delegated responsibilities to deliver the capital asset as part of the alliance. The OPs perform roles as members of the Alliance Leadership Team (ALT) and Alliance Management Team (AMT) Members during the delivery phase.
These two roles should ideally be undertaken by separate individuals/teams, however, limited Owner resources may mean this is not always possible. In some instances, it may be necessary to have some individuals acting in both capacities (e.g. a key senior executive or the CEO may fulfil the role of the 'Owner' outside of the alliance as well as being on the ALT as the Owner Participant). In this situation, the relevant individual needs to be very careful in undertaking the varying roles and responsibilities and this issue should be expressly addressed in external and internal governance plans.
Accountability to the government for delivering the investment outcomes identified in the Business Case (and hence in the Owner's VfM Statement) rests with the Owner and cannot be delegated to third parties. The Owner should have 'owner as owner' representatives independent of the alliance to certify payments; negotiate and recommend scope/TOC changes; and test scope changes against the required outcomes in the Owner's VfM Statement.