CONTRACTING FOR PUBLIC SERVICES
The process of governments contracting some of their services to private sector organizations has gradually become a vital phase in public sector governance. Today, governments across the globe contract a wide range of their services to private sector players. Whereas governments stand to gain service and efficiency benefits from these contracts, they have to develop mechanisms of administering the contractors and the agreements if they are to get value for their spending. Recent research has revealed strategies that can be employed by the government and the private sector to abate losses whenever governments issue public service contracts. This paper will explore the methods that governments can use to ensure accuracy and efficiency in contracts and contract administration.
Contracting of government was initially done to seek improved service delivery at reduced costs (Greve, 2007 p.1). It was also done as a way of exploring alternative and innovative ways of providing public services. Typically, government advertising for contracts attracts multiple private-sector bidders. This increased competition prompts contractors to design service delivery plans that are of improved quality and reasonable costs. These contracts enable the government to deliver cost-effective services while at the same time, allowing governments to concentrate on its core administrative responsibilities and roles.
Contracting public activities does not absolve the government from its roles and responsibilities towards the contracted service. The concerned government agency remains taxed with the obligation to monitor the contractor’s activities to ensure that the contractor fulfils the agreed-upon standards, output, and objectives of the contract. Government agents can employ several mechanisms to ensure that contracted services reflect accountability to democratic and administrative values. The administration of contracts involves enforcing specific agreements or promises in the contract.
The enforcement process should begin at the inception stage of the contract and last through its completion. When administering an agreement, the government agents should be concerned with three vital aspects of the contract, namely time, quality, and cost (Curry, 2010 p. 103). Time and quality are usually closely related in any contract and, as such, should never be separated when writing and administering contractual agreements. The administrator should make it clear that useful or meaningful services delivered under the contract may become less valuable when they are not delivered within the time limits required by the government. Also, substandard services may cause problems.
It is not just the government agencies that must be concerned with the time, quality, and costs of a project because a contractor is also required to keep these requirements in mind while working on a project. These concerns are a characteristic of every contract, both private and public. In the case of private contracts, the concerned parties have the liberty of engaging in informal bargaining arrangements. Public contracts are different because they are bound from all angles by regulations rules and formalities. These contracts are also subject to much scrutiny. Greve (2007, p. 3) explains how the agreement between Graested-Gilleleje and a private firm was subjected to some protests and intensive media coverage. Perhaps it is the elevated scrutiny by the media that contributed to the successful delivery of this project. Given the elevated levels of scrutiny of government projects, especially those high profile contracts, a government contractor is required to have more skills and knowledge beyond private contract administration.
The award of government contracts typically begins with complicated and lengthy administrative processes. Thus, the government agency that is issuing the contract must have some technical competence in the areas covered by the contract. This technical knowledge will enable the government agency to specify what the contractor is expected to accomplish by the contractor. A well authored contractual agreement should specify all the delivery requirements, including the completion milestone of specific milestones. Also, the contract should have details of what the government expects the completed project to resemble. Government parties with technical knowledge will be able to define the where, what, why, when, and who questions concerning the project. The answers to these questions will help the manager to generate more detailed inquiries that will enable them to ensure that they do not omit any basic requirements in the contract.
Throughout the progression of the contract, data must be gathered, evaluated, and communicated for the purpose of decision-making. A considerable part of the government’s administrative process involves enforcing the government’s complex and comprehensive contract requirements and clauses. A majority of administrative actions entail adhering to the general provisions elaborated in the contract. The government must also allocate substantial effort towards those contract clauses that further the economic and social objectives, some of which may be unrelated to the contract’s core objectives.
The most challenging section of a public contract is the statements about the requirements of the project or contract. This challenging section of the agreement describes specifications, purchase, and work. These statements provide details concerning what the government expects from the contractor upon the completion of the project. A clear description of these requirements implies a reduced need for the government agent to intervene during the execution of the contract. Contract execution problems usually arise when the two parties do not reach common ground on the contract requirements. Sometimes, the statements or clauses in contracts are defective or ambiguous, and sometimes, these statements precisely describe the requirements. Establishing accommodation between the perspective of the government agents and the private contractor is one of the primary roles of contract management.
Pride and the common tendency of individuals not wanting to admit errors can also cause problems during contract administration. Government officers may be slow to acknowledge that their contractual documents are defensive or ambiguous. Similarly, the contractor may also exhibit slowness in admitting that their decisions reflect poor management, poor quality assurance processes, and erroneous interpretation of required procedures. In any contractual relationship, both parties must take responsibility for any problems that may arise during the project’s execution. This is an essential yet often overlooked element of project administration. Contract administration should never be about finding fault in the implementation of a project. Rather, the primary objective of the parties involved in the contract should focus on the timely and successful completion of the government contract.
There is no easy solution to the challenges faced during contract administration. Thus, it is vital that the government carefully reviews all the technical requirements of a contract before consenting to the clauses in the contract. A close inspection of contracts can mitigate and eliminate many of the problems faced during contract administration. Proper documentation of a contract’s specification is one half of the government’s contract administration responsibility. The other half involves finding a contractor who has the knowledge, human resources, finances motivation, and facilities to execute the contract successfully.
Often, the scale of government contracts requires that they are carried out over several months or even years. Projects that last for lengthy periods may require adjustment of some requirements. The relationship formed between the government’s agents and the contractors must be adaptable to ant necessary changes that may occur in the contract environment. Even in situations where changes are necessary, the primary focus of the parties involved in the contract should be to facilitate the work and not provide any hindrances to the work. A good contract should, therefore, have provisions for revisions that reflect ongoing demands. Effective administration of contracts involves managing the changing circumstances surrounding a contact.
In any government-issued contract, the government agents must retain the role of the contract manager. The government must be responsible for the coordination and organization of functional specifications (OEDC & ADB, 2009, p.132). The team members involved in the project may change as various individuals are called into work on specific areas of the contact. Effective administration of the contract involves more than applying one’s expertise to specific problems. It also requires leadership that ensures that the personnel from various areas and with various skills and knowledge work together as a team. The contract manager, therefore, examines the information provided to him by the interdisciplinary team to ensure that the government and the private contractor’s rights are enforced and protected. The contact manager also runs the project’s entire business relationship while ensuring that the project is delivered promptly. The project manager is also tasked with the responsibility of implementing the diverse contract conditions and terms, controlling the costs of the contract, and keeping the contactor’s records and books. The characteristics of the legal relationship between the contractor and the government also form part of the contract manager’s responsibilities.
The contract manager is also tasked with ensuring that the reporting system employed by the private partner adheres to the requirements of the government. This compliance ensures that the government will always have clear policies and a procedure concerning the contractor’s reporting process. The contract cannot, however, introduce these requirements in the middle of the contract. The government should always ensure that it includes data concerning the required reporting procedure. This early communication gives the contact partner ample time to plan and implement the reporting procedure. It also allows the contractor time to make sure that this information management structure is compatible with government requirements.
The project manager could employ the use of quality management systems to ensure a seamless reporting procedure. This system controls the method and process of issuing documents, monitoring service delivery, and recording the progress of a project. The communication conduits between the private contractor and the government must remain continuously open. Effective communication channels will enable both parties to quickly mitigate issues that may challenge the project’s implementation and completion. Despite the numerous roles of the project manager, they should avoid involving themselves in the execution and decision-making process to protect the governments from risks that may occur during contract implantation.
The process of issuing out government contracts is complex. These contracts may involve giving private organizations the role of executing projects on its behalf, but they do not exclude the government from its administrative roles over the contract execution. This essay has explained many of the roles that the government concerning project initiation and executing. Private organizations may be tasked with accomplishing the provisions of a contract, but the government remains in charge of ensuring that the contract is completed as required.
References
Curry, W., 2010. Governing Contracting: promises and Perils, Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Greve, C., 2007. Contacting For Public Services, London, Routledge.
OECD & ADB, 2009. Partnership for Democratic Governance Contracting Out Government Functions and Services Emerging Lessons from Post-Conflict and Fragile Situations: Emerging Lessons from Post-Conflict and Fragile situations, Paris: OEDC Publishing