supporting people briefing paper - contract management

8/2/2019 Supporting People Briefing Paper - Contract Management

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Contract Management Briefing PaperThisbriefingpaperprovidesanoverviewoftheSupportingPeople(SP)Contract

ManagementFramework. Ithasalsobeenpreparedtoprovidepracticaladviceand

guidanceto

providers

of

SP

funded

services.

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Contents

Aims&ObjectivesofContractManagement ............................................................... 3

GroupingServices

for

the

Purposes

of

Contract

Management.................................... 4

StepsinContractManagement .................................................................................... 5

Step1AnnualReturns............................................................................................ 5

Step2 RiskAssessment ........................................................................................... 5

Step3ContractManagementActivity ................................................................... 7

ServiceUpdates............................................................................................................. 8

ContractMeetings......................................................................................................... 9

ValidationVisits........................................................................................................... 10

PerformanceVisits ...................................................................................................... 11

ManagingtheRelationship ......................................................................................... 12

SPLead

Officer ........................................................................................................ 12

ProviderNominatedLeadOfficer ........................................................................... 12

StandardDocumentation............................................................................................ 13

UsefulContacts ........................................................................................................... 14

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Aims & Objectives of Contract ManagementTheoverallaimofthecontractmanagementframeworkistoprovideasupportiveframeworkinwhichprovidersareenabledtodeliverexcellentservicestovulnerablepeopleinpartnershipwithSP.Theobjectivesoftheframeworkaretoensurethatservicesaredeliveredassetoutinthe

fundingagreementby:

EnsuringagoodSPteam/providerrelationshipwithclarityonroles,responsibilityandcommunications

EnsuringtheSPgrantisspenteffectivelyoneligibleserviceswhichcontributetotheaimoftheSPstrategyandthatvalueformoneyismaintained

Ensuringthatservicesaredeliveringtherequiredoutcomesforserviceusersthroughthe

support

planning

process

Achievingcontinuousimprovementinqualityandperformanceoverthelifeofthefundingagreement

Ensuringanyrisktothefundingagreementisreducedandmanagedeffectively

RiskMatrix updated

Service/Service

ImprovementPlan updates

Annualreturns

Contractmeetings

Outcomes of

contractmeetings

RoutineValidation visit

Validationvisit report

Notificationof contractregime

PerformanceVisits as required

Thestartingpointoftheprocessisthesubmissionofannualreturnsfromprovidersfor

groupsofservices.

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Grouping Services for the Purposes of Contract

ManagementForthepurposesofdeterminingandimplementingcontractmanagementactivity,servicesof1provideraregrouped(forsingleschemeprovidersthissingleservicewillrepresentthegroup). Thisgroupingwillbebasedonsimilarservicesintermsofoperatingarea,clientgrouptheyaredeliveredtoandcommonmanagementstructure. Anexampleofhowgroupsofservicesofatypicalprovidermaybegroupedisshownbelow.Inthisexampletheproviderreceivesfundingfor9services,butthereareonly4groupsforcontractmanagementpurposes:Area Scheme

Name ClientPopulation ServiceType ContractManagementGroup

Belfast Service1 Homeless Supported

Accommodation

1

Belfast Service2 Homeless Supported

Accommodation

1

Belfast Service3 Homeless FloatingSupport 1

West Service4 Addictions Supported

Accommodation

2

West

Service5

Addictions

FloatingSupport

2

West Service6 Older

People

ShelteredAccommodation 3

West Service7 Older

People

PeripateticService 3

West Service8 Older

People


North

East

Service9 Older

People


Totals 9Services 4groups

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Steps in Contract Management

Step1AnnualReturns

Thestartingpointofthecontractmanagementprocessisthesubmissionofannualreturns,forthegroupofservices,forthefollowing:

Strategicrelevance QAFselfassessment ServiceImprovementPlan

Thedocumentationtocompletethesereturnsisavailableonourwebsite.

AswellassubmittingtheStrategicRelevanceandQAFselfassessment(includingtheQAF

evidenceindexform)returns,providersneedtosubmitanannualserviceimprovementplan

foreach

group

of

services.

This

plan

should

include

the

actions

necessary

to

either

achieve

minimumqualitystandardsagainsteachofthecoreobjectivesoftheQAF,orifappropriate

thehighergradesoftheQAF. Thefirstannualserviceimprovementplanshouldalsoreflect

progresstowardsanyrecommendationsfrompreviousservicesreviewsorwhereservices

havenotbeenreviewed,otherrelevantserviceimprovementsagreedwithSP. Subsequent

annualserviceimprovementplans,shouldreflectrequiredserviceimprovementsidentified

throughthecontractmanagementprocess. Theplanwillbereviewedandapprovedbythe

providerandSPateachcontractmeeting.

Providerswillbenotifiedinwritingofthecommencementofthecontractmanagement

arrangementsfor

each

group

of

services

with

the

request

for

the

submission

of

the

annual

returns. Followingthisinitiationofthecontractmanagementprocess,providerswillhave20

workingdaystosubmittheirannualreturns.

Theinformationfromtheannualreturnswillbeusedtoreviewthecurrentriskratingofthegroupofservicesthroughthecompletionofariskmatrix. ItwillalsoformthesubstantiveissuestobediscussedatregularcontractmeetingsandshouldprovidetheevidencebaseforthevalidationoftheseservicesbySP.Step2 RiskAssessment

Themanagementofriskisfundamentaltothecontractmanagementapproach. ItisrecognisedthatnotallservicescarryanequalamountofriskorthesamelevelofrequirementforSPoversightandmonitoring. SPwillseektoensurethatthecontractmanagementactivityisproportionatebyundertakingariskassessmentofgroupsofservicesofeachprovider.Anumberofriskfactorswillbeconsideredaspartofthisassessment,includingfinancial,

performance,qualityandgeneralservicefactors. Eachriskitemisweightedandscoredand

willbeappliedtogroupsofcontracts(groupsaredefinedas1ormoresimilarservicesof1

provider). Thetablebelowprovidesasummaryofthefactorsincludedintherisk

assessment,under

each

the

categories

are

listed

according

to

their

weighting

in

the

risk

assessment,fromlowtohigh.

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RiskFactor Measure CategoriesFinancial AnnualContractValueforGroup 0 99,999

100,000

299,999

300,000 574,999

575,000andover

Organisational

Viability

AccreditationStatus Full/Lite/Passported

Reaccreditationunderway

Notcurrentlyaccredited

Complexityof

GroupNumber

of

schemes

in

group

5schemes

or

fewer

610schemes

1115schemes

16ormoreschemes

Strategic

Relevance

Annualselfassessment Relevancefullydemonstrated

Relevancemainlydemonstrated

Relevancepartlydemonstrated

Relevancenotdemonstrated

Performance Progressagainstimprovement

plantargets

Targetsachieved

Morethan50%progressagainst

targets

Lessthan50%progressagainst

targets

Noprogress

Serviceperformanceindicators

(accommodation)

Meetsorexceedsbenchmarks

Doesnotmeetbenchmarksfor1or

morequartersinlast12months

DirectSupport(Floating

Support)

Meetsorexceedsbenchmark

Doesnotmeetbenchmarkfor3

consecutivemonths

in

last

12

months

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Quality AnnualSelfAssessment GradesA&Bforallcoreobjectives

GradesCorhigherforallcore

objectives

Gradesdo

not

exceed

Cfor

any

coreobjective

GradeDfor1ormorecore

objective

Discretionary

Factors(can

increaseor

decrease

overallrisk

score)

Servicespecificfactors Discretionaryweightingapplied

duetoservicespecificfactors,

includingcomplexityofclient

group,jointfundingissues,

innovationandgoodpracticeetc.

CriticalIncidents Discretionaryweightingappliedas

thereisareporttoSPwhich

requiresinvestigation

Theriskscoreisnotnecessarilyareflectionofqualityorperformance. Aservicesmaybe

performingwellandbeofhighqualityandmaystillbeassessedashighrisk,duetothe

complexityoftheclientgroupitprovidesforandthehighvalueofthefundingitreceives

fromSP.

Providerswillbenotifiedinwriting,within20workingdaysofreceiptoftheirannualreturns,oftheoutcomeofthisriskassessmentforeachoftheirgroupsofservicesincludingthespecificcontractmanagementregimetobeimplementedforthegroup,intheyear.Step3ContractManagementActivity

Theriskassessmentscorewilldeterminetheintensityofthecontractmanagementactivitywithservicesbeingassessedasrequiringalight,moderateoractivecontractmanagementapproach.Allservices,regardlessoftheirriskassessment,willberequiredtosubmitannualreturnsas

detailedabove. Inadditional,quarterlycontractperformancereturnsforaccommodation

servicesandmonthlyfloatingsupportmonitoringreturnswillstillberequiredforindividual

services.

Otheractivitieswhichmakeupthecontractmanagementprocessare:

Serviceupdates ContractMeetings ValidationVisits PerformanceVisits

Adescriptionofeachisprovidedbelow,includingthetypicallevelsoftheseactivities,based

onwhetheragrouphasbeenassessedasrequiringalight,moderateoractiveapproach.

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Service UpdatesProviderswillberequiredtosubmitserviceupdates,byemailorbyposttotheSPAdministrationteam,foreachgroupofservices,whichwillbereviewedatthecontractmeeting. Theseserviceupdatesshouldbemadeupof:

Progressupdatesagainsttargetswithintheagreedannualserviceimprovementplan PerformanceinformationspecifiedandagreedwithSPatthefirstcontractmeeting,

butwhichshouldreflectinformationalreadycollectedandreportedwithinthe

providerorganisation.

Thelistbelowprovidesexamplesofperformanceinformationwhichcouldformthiselement

oftheserviceupdates. Whiletheselectionofthisinformationwillbeatthediscretionofthe

provider,SPwillseektoconfirmthatitreflectsthemainaspectsofservicedelivery,

includingoperationaldelivery,staffmanagementanddevelopment,financialperformance

andservice

user

involvement/satisfaction.

PerformanceArea MeasureOperations No.ofreferrals&no.acceptedtoreceivesupport

No.ofserviceusersexitedservice

Capacity/Availableunits

Averagetimefromreferraltoassessment

Numberofaccidents

Numberof

Incidents

NumberofComplaints

Financial BudgetComplianceVarianceAnalysis

BudgetedhousingsupportstaffhoursversusActual

housingsupporthoursworked

StaffManagement/Development Staffturnover

Staffsickleave

Staffmandatorytraining

Staffprofessionaldevelopment

ServiceUsers ServiceusersatisfactionServiceuserinvolvement

Theseserviceupdateswillberequiredforeachgroupofservicesregardlessoftheoutcome

oftheriskassessment. Thecontentoftheserviceupdateswillbeagreedinadvanceofthe

first

contract

meeting

and

providers

will

be

asked

to

consider

the

range

of

possible

informationtobeincludedonreceiptofthecontractregimenotificationletter.

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Contract MeetingsThecontractmanagementprocessseekstoformalisethecurrentrelationshipwithSPprovidersbyclarifyingrolesandresponsibilitiesandintroducingaformalmechanismforbilateraldiscussionatthecontractmeeting. Thecontractmeetingwillbetheprimaryforumtodiscussallmainissuesrelevanttothefundingagreementsoftheservicesincludedinthegroup.Thefrequencyofcontractmeetingswillbedeterminedbytheriskscore. Themeetingswill

beformallychaired,haveastandardagendaandtheiroutcomerecorded. Forparticular

servicesitmayalsobeappropriateforrelevantstakeholderstoattendthesemeetings,for

exampleifservicesarejointlyfunded.

Theinformationrequiredfromprovidersfordiscussionatthecontractmeetingswas

outlinedinearliersections. However,ifappropriate,providersmayalsowishtotable

additionaldocumentary

evidence

for

particular

areas.

Aspreviouslystatedthesemeetingswillbeheldatthegrouplevel,soforexampleif5

servicesof1providerformthegroup,themeetingwillseektodiscussall5services.

Thesetagendaforthemeetingswillbejointlyagreedwiththeproviderfollowingthefirst

meeting,howeverSPwillseekforthefollowingitemstobereflected.

Updatestoserviceinformation/improvementplans

QAFassessment Performance Stakeholdersfeedback ServiceUserinvolvement ValueforMoney Contractnegotiations Complaintsandconcerns

Providersmayalsowishtoseeparticularissuesreflectedwhicharerelevanttothem.

SPwillberesponsiblefornotifyingprovidersofwhenthecontractmeetingwilltakeplace

andproducingallnecessarydocumentationincludingtheagendaandagreednotesofthe

meeting. ThemeetingsmaybeheldatSPsofficesoratparticularservicelocations. Where

acontract

meeting

is

held

at

ascheme

it

gives

the

opportunity

to

verify

data

provided

and

combinethemeetingwiththevalidationvisit,ifappropriate.

Theregularityofthesemeetingswillbedeterminedbytheclassificationofthegroupsas

requiringalight,moderateoractiveapproach.

LightContractManagementApproach1meetingeveryotheryear ModerateContractManagementApproach12meetingseveryyear ActiveContractManagementApproach23meetingseveryyear

Providerswillbenotifiedofthescheduleforcontractmeetingsfortheirgroupsofservices

withinthe

contract

management

regime

notification

letter.

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Validation VisitsThepurposeofthevalidationvisitistoensurethatthequalityoftheservicedeliveryisimprovinginlinewiththeQAF,aswellasensuringthatservicescontinuetomeetstrategicobjectivesandremaineligibleforSPfunding.Providerswillbegivenatleast20workingdaysnoticeofavalidationvisit,whichwillbe

carriedoutat1oftheserviceswithinthegroupandwilltypicallyrequire1workingdayto

complete. Theaimofthevisitistovalidatetheprovidersselfassessmentagainststrategic

relevance,includingeligibilityandtheQAF. Itwillfollowasimilarformattothevalidation

visitcarriedoutaspartoftheformerservicereviewprocess,including

Meetingwiththemanager Serviceuserconsultation Staffconsultation Sightofevidencetovalidatethestrategicrelevance&qualityassessmentself

assessmentsandtheimplementationoftheserviceimprovementplan

ProvisionofinitialfeedbacktothemanagerFollowingavisit,theSPwillreviewtheevidencecollectedandwriteupthefindingsina

report. Thereportwilltypicallycontainthefollowing:

Astatementastothestrategicrelevanceoftheservice Ageneralassessmentofthequalityandeffectivenessofservicesforserviceusers AnyVFM,eligibilityorcontractcomplianceissues AvalidatedQAFscore Anactionplanandtimetableforimplementationofrecommendations

Thereportwillbeissued,within20workingdays,totheproviderforfeedback/comments

andifnecessaryafurthermeetingwillbeheldtodiscussthefindingsinorderto:

Identifyactionsthattheproviderneedstotaketoaddresstheissuesraisedinthereportandactionplan,includingmakingamendmentstotheirexistingservice

improvementplan

Addressanyinaccuraciescontainedwithinthereport Explainthenextstagesofthecontractmanagementprocessinordertomanageany

risksidentifiedduringthevisit

Followingthismeetingitmaybenecessarytoupdateandamendthereportandservice

improvementplan.

Theregularityofvalidationvisitswillbedeterminedbytheclassificationofthegroupsas

requiringalight,moderateoractiveapproach.

LightContractManagementApproach1visiteveryotheryearModerateContractManagementApproach1visiteveryotheryearActiveContractManagementApproach1visiteveryyearProviders

will

be

notified

of

the

schedule

for

validation

visits

for

their

groups

of

services

withinthecontractmanagementregimenotificationletter.

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Performance VisitsOnoccasionsanonroutinevisitmayberequiredwhereaseriousconcernhasbeennoted(e.g.asaresultofacomplaint). Insuchcasesaspotcheckmaybecarriedoutwithoutpriornotice.Abriefreportwillbewrittenhighlightingthefindingsofthevisitandwillcontainanaction

plan. Thiswillbeissuedtoproviderswithin20workingdaysofthevisitandwillfocusonthe

issuewhichpromptedthevisitandthefindingsontheday. Thereportwillbefinal,however

theproviderwillhavetheopportunitywithinthereporttosubmitfeedbackoranydisputes

onthefindings(within20workingdaysfromreceiptofthereportandactionplan).

Ifnecessaryafurthermeetingwillbeheldtodiscussthefindingsinorderto:

Identifyactionsthattheproviderneedstotaketoaddresstheissuesraisedinthereport

and

action

plan,

including

making

amendments

to

their

existing

service

improvementplan

Explainthenextstagesofthecontractmanagementprocessinordertomanageanyrisksidentifiedduringthevisit.

Thesevisitswillbecarriedoutonanasrequiredbasisandarethereforenotlinkedtotheannualriskassessment. However,theoutcomeofanysuchvisitswillbefedintotheannualreviewoftheriskassessmentforthegroupofservices,ifappropriate.

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Managing the RelationshipAfundamentalobjectiveofthecontractmanagementprocessistoensurethatthereisanopenandconstructiverelationshipbetweentheproviderandSP,aimingtoidentifyandresolveproblemsorissuesearly.Theintentionistocreatearelationshipbasedoncooperationandpartnershipsetwithin

thecontextofcommercialreality. Eachpartywillnominatealeadofficertoformally

managethefundingagreementattheappropriatebusinesslevelontheirbehalf. Changes

tothefundingagreement,monitoringofservicedeliveryandmostissuesthatarisewill

occurandbedealtwithatthislevel.

SPLeadOfficer

Foreachofthe5NIHEAreasthereisaLeadOfficerforSP(twoinBelfast),whoisresponsible

forthe

implementation

of

the

contract

management

arrangements

in

their

respective

areas.

EachLeadOfficerwillalsohavedesignatedsupportstafftoassistintheimplementationof

thecontractmanagementprocess.

TheSPLeadOfficerwill

Manageandoverseegroupsoffundingagreementswithprovidersintheirarea FulfilSPsroleandresponsibilitiesinrelationtothedeliveryofthefunding

agreement

Monitorperformanceandfundingagreementcompliance Attend&chaircontractmanagementmeetings Carryoutvalidationvisits Carryoutperformancevisitswherenecessary EscalateproblemswithinSPwherenecessary

ProviderNominatedLeadOfficer

EachproviderwillbeaskedtonominateacorrespondingLeadofficerforeachoftheir

groupsofserviceswhowillactasthemainrepresentative/liaisonwithSP.However,

individualservicemanagerswillbeabletoattendthecontractmeetingsandvisits,fortheir

specificservices,atthediscretionoftheprovider.

TheProviderLeadOfficerwill

MonitorcontractperformanceandreportstoSP Representtheprovidersinterests Attendcontractmeetings Negotiateandtakeremedialactionswherenecessary Escalateproblemswithintheirorganisationasnecessary.

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Standard DocumentationAllofthedocumentationassociatedwiththecontractmanagementprocessisavailablefromtheSPsectionoftheNIHEswebsite,underContractManagement.Thisincludes:

ContractManagementBriefingPaper StrategicRelevanceAssessmentForm QualityAssessmentFramework QualityAssessmentSummarySheet SampleServiceImprovementPlan SampleContractMeetingAgenda SampleValidationVisitAgenda

Providerswill

receive

letters

confirming

the

initiation

of

the

contract

management

process

forspecificgroupsofservicesandrequestingthesubmissionoftheirannualreturnsfor

thesegroups. Thisisthestartoftheprocess.

TheSPAdministrationTeamwillcoordinatetheissuingofrequestsforandreceiptofannual

returnsandquarterlyserviceupdates. AnyinformationrequestedbySPshouldpreferably

beemailed([email protected])butcanalsobepostedto:

SPAdministrationTeamSupportingPeople

3rdFloor

HousingCentre

2AdelaideStreet

Belfast

BT28PB

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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Useful ContactsTheAreaLeadofficersforSPwillberesponsiblefortheimplementationofthenewarrangementsintheirrespectiveareasandwillbethemaincontactsforanyspecificqueriesoncetheframeworkbecomesoperationalintheirarea.Team Contact Email TelephoneBelfastArea LiamOHanlon

LeadOfficer

[email protected] (028)90318381

BelfastArea JulieAlexander

LeadOfficer


North

East

AreaPamela

Stevenson

[email protected]

(028)

90318568

SouthArea EamonMullan

LeadOfficer


SouthEast

Area

DonalBrereton

LeadOfficer


WestArea LouiseClarke

LeadOfficer


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