The project deed normally identifies one or more formal points of contact between the government party and the private party. However, to ensure a good relationship is maintained, a number of other contact points at various levels should be established. For example, as suggested above, forums that meet regularly are important vehicles to manage ongoing business issues and to coordinate the change processes that occur through the project lifecycle. These contact points themselves may change through the project lifecycle. Further guidance on managing risks inherent in change processes is outlined in Chapter 12.
It is important that communication channels are properly managed so as not to confuse the responsibilities of the parties in relation to the project deed or compromise contract management.
The degrees of formality used in dealing with issues between the parties should vary depending on the degree of control required, the nature of the issue, and the stage of the project lifecycle in which the issue arises. For example, an issue related to the day-to-day delivery of contracted services should be handled very differently from a strategically significant issue. This is where the operation of a two-tier inter-party committee arrangement can work well.
In addition, there can be benefit in the contract director having semi-regular informal meetings with their private party counterpart. However, any material matters discussed in informal meetings will need to be progressed through formal forums. The government party should also be aware that if the private party, its parent company or another entity involved in the project is publicly listed, it will have continuous disclosure obligations that may impact upon communications.
If appropriate, other government departments or agencies that are stakeholders in the project should be represented on committees, or reference groups, dealing with communications issues. Refer to section 4.5 for further detail.
The contract director should consider establishing a communications plan to include in the contract administration manual (see Chapter 6). This plan should differentiate between regular business-as-usual communications and specific emergency or contingency planning communications protocols (see Chapter 8).