The public sector operating phase management model is referred to as the 'Integrated Management Model' (IMM). It has been developed primarily for use by public partner decision-makers, e.g. project directors, responsible for contract oversight throughout the period during which the PPP concession is delivering public services.
Its purpose is to assist decision-makers with allocating and making better use of public sector resources during the operational phase. It focuses upon considerations that may have significant and / or long-term consequences for achieving strategic objectives using an integrated partnership, risk and performance management approach. These considerations are generic i.e. they are not tied to a specific type of PPP and include:
- Establishing and maintaining effective partnership relations between government and service providers;
- Identifying and managing public sector risks (both threat and opportunity risk); and
- Modifying (improving) and then maintaining service delivery performance standards of operators, and where appropriate, the oversight role of government or its delegates.
As discussed in Chapters 3 to 5, a review of literature identifies a need for an operating model that embraces "critical success factors" for partnership management (Yang, Shen and Ho 2009) - extending to partnership interactions and the types of competencies and skills (Weihe in Hodge, Greve and Boardman 2010: p.519) that improve VfM outcomes (Wilson, Pelham and Duffield 2010) involving a combination of formal and informal processes and the dynamic interplay between them (Bresnen and Marshall 2002). Evidence also demonstrates a need for governments to improve their operational risk management practices, including aligning them more closely with corporate planning objectives (Department of Treasury and Finance 2007b: p.3; Victorian Auditor-General 2007b: p.15-16; National Audit Office 2009b; and Edwards et al 2004: p.63). Furthermore, the literature review suggests performance monitoring difficulties exist in the public sector, arguably due to a lack of management know-how (Domberger and Fernandez 1999) and because of a failure to consistently incorporate methods of achieving PPP benefits into realisable action plans (National Audit Office 2009b: p.20).