5. The focus here is firstly to ensure that the requirement is sufficiently well understood and mature to determine that it is suitable for the principles of PFI - e.g. stable and long-term. Following on from this, the focus moves to ensuring that the requirement is articulated in a manner that is clear, is presented in output terms and is legally enforceable. Further, the ability of the contractor to deliver the service to the standards set out in the contractual requirement document must be able to be demonstrated, certified and verified against objective criteria consistent with the commissioning tests, the base requirements documents (SRD, URD etc) and the Key User Requirements. Also of key importance is the need to ensure that the ongoing delivery of the services by the contractor to the required standards is appropriately incentivised by aligning the requirement document fully with the payment and performance mechanism and any performance indicators to ensure outputs are measurable and any degraded performance appropriately adjusts the rewards/revenues.
6. It is stressed that the advantages of investing time and effort on developing the requirement and related documents in the early stages of the project must not be underestimated.
Relevant Government policy/guidance:
• MOD PFU Guidance Note - MOD Standard Project Agreement v1 for PFI Projects
• MOD PFU Guidance Note - Demonstration & Certification of PFI Services
• MOD PFU Guidance Note - Output-Based Specifications for PFI/PPP Projects
• HM Treasury: Standardisation of PFI contracts (SoPC) Version 4
• OGC Achieving Excellence Guide 9 - Design Quality
• OGC Achieving Excellence Guide 10 - Through Health and Safety
• OGC Common Minimum Standards
• HMT Technical Note 7: How to Achieve Design Quality in PFI Projects