Training is not exclusive to the Procuring Authority’s contract management team. In some circumstances it may be in the best interest of the Procuring Authority to ensure that the Project Company’s personnel have access to joint training.

For instance, on some projects, a Project Company (or its subcontractors) may not be fully familiar with local working practices. Joint training may therefore be an option to address gaps in the Project Company’s (or its subcontractors’) knowledge of local or national laws and regulations.

Having private sector staff involved in the training may also help to develop the knowledge and skillset of the Procuring Authority’s contract management team and their understanding of the drivers of the Project Company.

In addition to the benefit of training Procuring Authority staff, joint training fosters the relationship between parties, building mutual respect and trust.

Example – Joint training program

The Qiaoxi District Central Heating project in China highlights how experience of the private sector can assist Procuring Authorities with their training programs. On this project, the training for the Procuring Authority staff is primarily ‘on the job’, with employees learning from the technical staff of one of the equity investors in the Project Company, Beijing Yuantong Heat Company Ltd, a private company specialising in heat supply and management.

For more information, see the Qiaoxi District Central Heating Case Study.

A national PPP unit, central PPP task force or other sector-specific network can assist a Procuring Authority, or take the lead in training and development. Centralised resources are detailed in Section 2.1 (Contract management team set-up). The Procuring Authority can also conduct training internally, with support from another government agency, or with the involvement of external consultants (or a combination of the above).

Available support may include:

• Implementing training programs. A central authority may be able to run programs to improve the skills of employees across multiple projects or sectors where this may not be cost effective for a single PPP. If the central authority has the technical, legal or financial expertise to run this type of program, this may be the optimum approach.
  
  
• Developing common tools. In a similar way to training programs, a central authority may be able to develop tools and standard contract documentation for use across several projects. For example, a standardised contract management manual that can be modified to suit individual projects, saving the project team the effort of developing this resource from scratch.
  
  
• Sharing knowledge, lessons learned and good practice. Procuring Authority interviewees in the UK waste sector spoke highly of the Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme, which gathers together contract managers to coordinate and share lessons learned. A similar initiative could be undertaken in jurisdictions where there is a pipeline of PPP projects, and a government commitment or policy to consider PPP procurement.

Example – Training during the transition from financial close to construction

To assist with knowledge transfer on the Barranquilla Airport project in Colombia, workshops were carried out with new staff joining after contract award by representatives from ANI’s (Colombia’s National Infrastructure Agency) central knowledge teams, and the ANI team and consultants that structured the contract. The external consultants involved in the structuring, also worked hand-in-hand with the Procuring Authority for six months after contract signing and provided continued support, as and when necessary.

For more information, see the Barranquilla Airport Case Study.

The research recognised the benefits of a contract management manual, which is a working document that facilitates the initial transition period between the procurement phase and the operational phase, and the subsequent transition between contract managers over the life of the contract. Any contract management manual requires ongoing development and customisation to suit the needs of a specific project.

Approximately 30% of projects investigated globally were found to use a form of contract management manual; however, there was significant variation between regions. Most projects in Australia and North America reported using a contract management manual, while use was much lower in Latin America and the Middle East. A number of existing contract management manuals have been identified as part of the existing literature review.