Monitoring the project performance and managing the contract usually falls to the contracting authority. From roads and bridges to water provision and hospital services, line ministries and agencies typically have the required technical knowledge and the policy focus for monitoring delivery. Some countries reduce conflict in contract management by outsourcing to credible external entities, such as engineering firms, or research institutions, certain specialized monitoring activities. For example, in Brazil, the state government of Minas Gerais hires 'Independent Verifiers' for monitoring PPP performance; in France, engineering firms are hired for monitoring PPP hospital infrastructure performance.
However, managing PPP contracts can be complex-particularly when it comes to dealing with change that inevitably occurs over the lifetime of the contract (as described in Section 3.7.3: Dealing with Change. Some countries therefore involve other, specialized entities in the contract management function; for example by:
• Creating a centralized contract management support function. For example, the United Kingdom, being a pioneer in large scale use of PPP contracts, was one of the first countries to experience this need. In 2006 the British Treasury invited the then-PPP Unit, Partnerships UK, to create a PFI Operational Taskforce, operating on behalf of the Treasury [#232, page 3]. This taskforce provided support to hundreds of contract managers and published guidance. The central PPP unit for British local governments, 4Ps (now called Local Partnerships-a company jointly owned by HM Treasury and the Local Government Association) also has a role in supporting local governments in carrying out their contract management role, and published in 2007 a Guide to Contract Management for PFI and PPP Projects [#229]
• Including responsibility for some aspects of contract management among the responsibilities of a dedicated 'PPP Unit', as described further below. For instance, the Concessions Unit of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) in Chile monitors performance and manages PPP contracts on behalf of several ministries. Often this involvement may be limited to 'non-routine' events, or particularly challenging contract management tasks. In Korea, the PPP Unit PIMAC manages PPP contracts during the sensitive construction phase
• Allocating contract management responsibility to an independent regulator-a solution when relevant variables, such as the mechanism determining the fees to collect over time, are not clearly prescribed in the contract. However, the functions of 'regulator' and of 'contract manager' may collide-the contract manager is supposed to protect the public interest and the public purse, while the regulator may have a distinct and legally-mandated set of interests to preserve.