A joint management forum for project review and improvement or a project control group is a key tool to assist parties in developing and maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship over the life of the project. While not involved in the day-to-day management of the project, interparty project review forums provide significant benefits during the construction and service delivery phases of projects. These forums provide a valuable reporting mechanism to the government party on the progress of a project. For larger and more complex projects, it is usually practical to have separate strategic and working level forums.
Interparty project review forums should have a clearly defined role. The parties should ensure that the forum remains focused on its role, and does not become an environment for the discussion of issues best dealt with through other channels or mechanisms. In recent Partnerships Victoria projects, the framework for the interparty project review forum is set out in the project deed. The framework generally includes the forum's charter and objectives, membership and chair (which may alternate), meeting frequency and powers to create subcommittees. It may be possible to develop the forum's procedure and specific areas of responsibility as the project itself develops. The appointment of an independent chair for the meetings, and to help resolve interparty issues, may also be of value in some instances.
If not specified in the project deed, the forum should meet regularly to ensure that any problems are addressed quickly and that solutions are recommended by the parties jointly. A clear escalation path for resolving problems ensures that responsibility is directed to the appropriate level of management. The seniority, technical skill levels, decision-making capacity and project familiarity of forum participants are all important when determining the make-up of the forum or any subcommittees.
Recent Partnerships Victoria projects have also included a senior representatives group. The role of this group is to ensure all key stakeholders are informed of the status of the project and have the opportunity to address significant issues early that may impact the project.