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Traditionally procurement and implementation have often been split. Different people have been involved. The procurers have not always been interested in results. Implementation outcomes were considered to be the contract manager’s problem, not the procurer’s;
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The aim of a PFA is to bring procurement and contract management together;
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Quality procurement does not begin and end with tendering. It is about being actively engaged with service delivery throughout the whole contract implementation period. The partners could adopt this approach using a framework of PFAs;
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The adoption of a PFA means that the partners will regularly meet the selected providers over a five year period to discuss and mutually agree when employability services need to be adjusted in the light of experience, results and changed circumstances;
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The PFA approach could lead to a more mature relationship being developed with providers as opposed to the alternative of an annual contracting process dominated by legal and re-tendering issues;
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However even under the PFA all payments are ultimately performance based and the process will also involve a more formal annual review of provider performance. This should be linked to a version of the Australian star system (currently being adapted by DWP) or the American ‘right of first selection’ to reduce uncertainty and the loss of performance associated with tendering processes. Satisfactory performance will mean continuity of contract.