Waverley Borough Council Takes Steps to Enhance Contract Management

Waverley Borough Council, serving a population of 128,200 in Southwest Surrey, is set to overhaul its contract management practices following its participation in the Contract Management Pioneer Programme (CMPP).

Waverley Borough Council (WBC) has a decentralised approach to contract management arrangement and joined the Contract Management Pioneer Programme (CMPP) in 2023. 

At their midpoint check-in in 2024 the council, in collaboration with the Local Partnerships, recognised the need for robust foundational practices to ensure consistency and efficiency in managing its over 110 services. This included implementing best practices, a tiering tool, and an assurance board.

The work with Local Partnerships aimed to support the council by establishing these elements and drafting a job description for a senior responsible officer to champion contract management across the organisation.

Local Partnerships have provided invaluable bespoke support, which will enable the Council to leverage enhanced value for money through more robust contract management practices. We look forward to embedding the resources and frameworks as we begin his journey.  Many thanks to the Local Partnerships team for all their support

Louisa Cotton, Operational Support Officer (Commissioning), Waverley Borough Council 

The objectives of the work were to:  

• Work with Waverley Council to review their contracts using the CMPP tiering tool  

• Consider the benefits of drafting and implementing a contract management framework 

• Evaluate Waverley Council’s current state and its future journey in contract management.  

The challenge  

The challenges identified at the outset of the project were as follows: 

• Capacity issues, which tended to drive contract management to be deprioritised.  

• Contract management arrangements being delivered through ad-hoc roles and approaches which didn’t reflect the importance of contract management.  

• A decentralised model of contract management which meant there is no consistency across the organisation, and where pockets of best practice are being carried out in a siloed fashion. 

• Procurement Act 2023 coming into force which is causing heightened concern on the current state of the Council and its mentality towards contract management. 

• A culture shift required for senior management buy in. 

The solution 

 Tools and approaches used to support the Council included the following: 

• Production of a baselining report with RAG assessment so the Council could identify the key areas of concern and prioritise actions. 

• The drafting of a job description for the role of senior responsible office (SRO) in contract management, for adaption and adoption by the Council to give more clarity and definition to this role. 

• Discussions and examples of a tiering methodology, which will help the Council to tier its contracts on a consistent basis and take appropriate actions in monitoring and managing those contracts. 

• Bringing together around 20 staff with day-to-day contract management responsibilities, to share good practice and agreed early next steps to inform the Council’s contract management framework.  

Lessons learned 

Key lessons learned and information sharing: 

• Setting aside a few days for workshops and discussion can create consensus for future operation, using the experience of participants to shape what is best for the council and its contract management journey.  

• Establishing the steps and stages for setting up an assurance board which in turn will help support the necessary KPI journey. Starting with a vision, following through with measurable objectives to then use results to shape and inform future operations.   

• The Council has never previously had a contract management methodology, so it was important to build the corporate understanding (and supporting culture) around these requirements. 

Contact us about a place on Contract Management Pioneer Programme

Due to popular demand, the CMPP programme is currently full. If you’d like to join the waiting list, please email CMPPenquiries@localpartnerships.gov.uk with your council’s name and the number of learners.
 CMPPenquiries@localpartnerships.gov.uk or visit the webpage to find out more