Term | Definition |
The Authority | The organisation authorised to issue the contract. |
Aware of contract management principles in the context of realising organisational outcomes. |
A standard against which performance, cost and/or quality can be assessed. |
Process for the identification, definition, tracking, realisation and optimisation of benefits to ensure that potential benefits arising from a change are realised. Includes options appraisal, ongoing assurance and the identification of implications of value leakage. |
This refers to the failure of either party to comply with one or more of its contractual obligations. A breach can be 'persistent' i.e. repeated failure or 'material' i.e. a breach of a material term of the contract such as a failure to pay the charges. A breach of the contract may give rise to the right for the injured party to terminate the contract and/or claim for damages. |
A document providing justification for undertaking a contract, evaluating the benefits, costs and risks of alternative options and describing rationale for the preferred solution. |
Distinct thematic areas of the Standards, within which activities and behavioural attributes are grouped. |
Often referred to as a 'CCN', This is the written record of change to the contract made under the contractual change control process. |
Individual within the contract management team or wider government roles, including but not limited to: policy, commercial, legal, finance, HR and project delivery. |
This should be defined in the contract and sets out the date from which performance under the contract is due to commence - this may be a different date from the 'Effective Date', which is defined below. |
Relating to the business environment in which a public or private sector organisation operates, and/or members of the commercial function within a public sector organisation. |
This is a condition (stipulated in the contract) that has to be met for the contract to take effect, for example, the valid provision of a parent company guarantee. If a condition precedent is not met, the contract will not come in to force. |
Plans for how the contracted provision will be provided in case of contractor failure (either financial or in terms of systematic under-performance, leading to early contract termination). |
A set of standards describing the competencies and behaviours expected of successful Contract Managers. Consists of two sections: A. Acumen and Relationships and B. Technical expertise. |
Plan for how to manage a contract which sets out resources, risks and the various contract management activities that will be carried out. |
Contract Managers (within scope of the Standards) | Public sector professionals who identify as contract managers as well as those within an operational delivery or policy role who carry out contract management activities as part of this role; make decisions or provide advice that has a commercial impact; and/or take part in supplier interactions or negotiations. |
Tools and techniques used in effective contract management e.g. business continuity, mobilisation, change control, monitoring and reporting benefit realisation and exit planning. |
A sum of money awarded to an injured party for breach of contract to compensate for the losses it incurred as a result of the breach. |
Any default of either contracting party in complying with its obligations under the contract. |
Options to resolve formal disputes, including arbitration, mediation, formal negotiation, expert determination and use of service credits. |
The process to be followed to resolve any dispute without/before referring to the legal courts to decide the outcome. The details will be set out in the contract but could include mediation, arbitration and/or expert determination. |
The date that the contract takes effect from - this will either be the date that both parties sign the contract (the date used is the date of the last signature) or as specifically stated in the contract (which could be before/or after the signature date). |
A plan setting out the process to be followed on termination or expiry of the contract, including the management of service continuity, data/knowledge transfer and any implications on cost and personnel (e.g. TUPE). |
An individual involved in contract management who takes a strategic view, drawing on best practice to lead on achieving organisational outcomes. |
An individual involved in contract management who uses understanding of contract management principles to input into successful delivery of organisational outcomes. |
This is a contractual obligation to compensate a party for a defined loss or damage by making a monetary payment, on a pound for pound basis i.e. compensating the injured party in full for their loss. An indemnity is a harsher compensation mechanism than contractual damages because there is no obligation on the injured party to mitigate their losses. It is often used for breaches of intellectual property rights or data protection obligations where the potential losses are difficult to quantify but could be significant. |
The initial term of the contract before it is extended in any way. The initial term will be defined in the contract along with each party's right to extend the contract beyond the initial term. |
This will be specifically defined in the contract but is used to denote some sort of financial failure, for example, winding up or dissolution procedures started against a party, the appointment of an administrator or simply a party being unable to pay its debts, which will give the other party the right to terminate the contract. |
These are the rights that a party has over its intellectual property and can include patents, rights to inventions, copyrights, trademarks, business names and domain names, goodwill, rights in designs, rights in computer software, database rights, know-how and trade secrets. |
Metrics used to determine whether the contract is achieving its key objectives. |
These are a type of damages which became payable on the occurrence of a specific breach specified in the contract, for a defined amount. They are often used where the delivery by specific milestones are critical to the success of the contract. |
Scrutinises public spending for Parliament. |
Options appraisal - is down as 'operations appraisal in online training | The evaluation of a number of potential options, with the goal of identifying a preferred course of action. |
Available tools to drive successful performance, including supplier MI, KPIs, incentivisation mechanisms, opportunity management and quality assurance. |
An individual involved in contract management who applies knowledge and skill to deliver effectively on responsibilities to achieve organisational outcomes. |
A contractual trigger for an increase in level of deductions, following significant failure. |
A contractual mechanism allowing deductions to be made from payments to the supplier(s), as a result of supplier performance failing to meet the performance standards of the contract. |
Service levels will be specified in the contract and are intended to provide objective measures of whether services provided by the contractor are likely to support the underlying policy goal or business objective. |
A skilled professional (internal or external) who provides authoritative advice in their relevant field e.g. legal, commercial or finance. |
A section or schedule of the contract defining the client requirements for the contracted provision. |
Individual or group that can affect or be affected by the contract, including cross-functional colleagues and networks, suppliers and end users. |
The practices and behaviours adopted to engage more collaboratively with suppliers to improve delivery of government objectives and increase mutual value beyond that originally contracted. |
Further information on contract provisions. |
Exit from the contract before the contracted end date, due to defined supplier failure or voluntary early exit by either party. |
A technical analysis of historic activity based on existing data, used to forecast potential developments. |
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations set put to protections for employees in the event of a transfer of the services they provide to a different entity. For example, when an existing in-house service is outsourced or where a re-procurement of a service is awarded to someone other than the incumbent service provider. The regulations cannot be contracted out of, however parties to a contract can agree where responsibility and liability for meeting the TUPE obligations lie. This is a technically complex area and legal advice should be sought when dealing with TUPE issues. |
Unethical supplier practices. These include, but aren't limited to, conflicts of interest, accepting favors or gifts, inappropriately sharing confidential information, money laundering, bribery and modern day slavery. |
For more information on contractual definitions, processes and templates, please see the Cross Government Contract Management Best Practice Guide in Annex A.