Most of the current framework contracts shared by framework providers and clients do not describe contractual systems for value improvement, for the sharing of information between clients and suppliers, for the joint management of risks or for the development of strategic relationships with supply chain members. Most of these framework contracts do not provide a contractual route map for implementing Construction Playbook policies and, despite repeated use of the words 'good faith', they do not create the collaborative long-term relationships that the Playbook promotes.
A fresh look at framework contracts is needed in order that the work of the procurement and legal advisers who draft these contracts can contribute to the Construction Playbook change processes. Many review participants comment that the advisers who draft framework contracts seem remote from strategic commercial objectives, and that their work seems to focus primarily on the fear of regulatory challenge and the illusory attraction of risk transfer. Procurement and legal advisers have a lot to offer in creating Gold Standard framework contracts, but they need to be briefed to apply a more creative and balanced approach.
Framework contracts do not fulfil their potential if they govern only call-off, administration and the measurement of supplier performance. Review contributors support a Gold Standard framework contract that is collaborative, outcome-focused and flexible, with standard form provisions that drive improved value by integrating the work of the framework provider, clients, manager, suppliers and supply chain members, for example through shared approaches to MMC, digital technologies, ESI and joint risk management.