5. Contract Management Plan

A contract management plan forms the basis of all the contract management functions. Development and implementation of a contract management plan should start at an early stage during the procurement process so that the contract management requirements are included in the draft agreement developed by the public entity.

The contract management plan must also have clear defined objectives which are to:

a. Provide a clear understanding of how to approach the contract management activity;

b. Be meticulous and exhaustive for stages throughout the lifecycle;

c. Develop a comprehensive understanding of in- depth procedures of approaching each contract management activity;

d. Adopt a pro- active approach to resolution of issues and disputes and define a procedure for the same; and

e. Support the contract management team in reviewing their current contract management.

The diagram below sets out a five step approach to design the contract management plan.

A contract management plan must ideally address aspects such as performance monitoring, reporting and review, risk management, relationship management, issue management and dispute resolution, contingency planning & change management, knowledge management & information dissemination and ongoing review. Each of the aspects of contract management is explained herein below.