Plans for contract improvement

Purpose:

A Contract Improvement Plan (CIP) will act as the source, driver and baseline, against which to monitor any future contract change by either party, which may subsequently be agreed between the parties, to bring about an acceptable and beneficial change to the contract, i.e. an improvement.

Fitness for purpose checklist:

• Does each party have such a plan?
• Was the provision of such a plan as a deliverable by a certain date included in the contract as an obligation?
• Was the plan produced by someone with detailed knowledge of the current contract, e.g. those who originally negotiated and drafted the current contract, or the contract manager?
• Are the respective plans documented and shared between contract managers?
• Have such plans been discussed and refined at periodic intervals, as part of the contract management activities?
• Does the departmental contract improvement plan align with our known future business / marketing / financial objectives and plans?
• Does the Provider's contract improvement plan align with our known future business / marketing / financial objectives and plans?
• Do we accept the current version of the Provider's CIP? Do we perceive the Provider's changes as being acceptable, beneficial and actually delivering an improvement to the contract?
• Does the Provider accept our current version of CIP? Does the Provider perceive our changes as being acceptable, beneficial and actually delivering an improvement to the contract?
• For each planned contract improvement, what is the probability of success, and the target date for it to be approved and taken forward as an agreed contract change, in accordance with the Contract Change Procedure?
• What period does the CIP cover? The entire contract duration or just a part of it? If only a part of it - why?
• How many individual contract improvements is each party aiming to make? Is such a number over the given timeframe reasonable and/or achievable?

Suggested content:

To follow

Source information:

To follow

Notes:
The "win / win" situation to strive for, is one where both parties perceive a change as being a beneficial improvement.

The natural way to generate a Contract Improvement Plan is as part of a good working relationship between the respective contract managers, developed over time, through regular dialogue, meetings and the sharing of ideas and aims.

Above all, in order to succeed, these plans need to be developed in an environment of mutual trust, (part of Relationship Management and Provider Management).

Any CIP should always bear in mind the intentions of the parties at the time the original contract was entered into. For example, if the plan goes way outside the scope of what was originally envisaged, such "uncharted waters" may be viewed narrowly and unfavourably. If on the other hand, a bold, well-timed and innovative move captures the imagination of both parties, success may follow.

Further information:

See the briefing: Changing requirements