Steps that the PPP Project Officer can take to ensure that his or her successor has a thorough understanding of the history of a project, and the agreements made between the institution and the private party at a stage when he or she was not yet appointed.
Proper continuity of a project, in cases of succession, requires that the PPP Project officer at the inception level, document and institutionalize the project’s experience and learning’s for all stages. This includes documenting the agreement, the stakeholders, the private party and all the inputs from the different team members (Reside, 2009). The established document should coordinate all the required inputs, exhaust all the regulations of the project and include the team members and their expectations in the project. The officer should take the successor through every detail in a theoretical form and later to the project itself (Tieva and Junnonen, 2009). The PPO project officer should use this document to educate the successor on the history, levels of the project, the inputs, the strategies, legislative procedures and the expected duration of the project. This enables the successor to come into terms with the project, develop coordination, develop a working relationship with the private party and learn on the required ethics and expected results of the project.
The PPP Project officer at the inception stage has a better understanding of his/her role, expected developments and the means of delivery. Having a successor to the officer may somehow lead to a shift in focus due to introduction of new elements to the project.
A successor should work closely with the initial project officer to have a better indulgence of the project. The officer, on the other hand, should record all aspect of the project in a documented form that is clear in language and content for the successor to easily understand. The management and legislative elements of the project should remain clear in effects of termination of the contract to enhance better procurement and delivery (Reside, 2009).
Reference.
Tieva, A. & Junnonen, J, 2009, Proactive Contracting in Finnish PPP Projects, international Journal of Strategic Property Management, Vol. 13.
Reside, R., 2009, Global Determinants of Stress and Risk in Public-private Partnerships (PPP) in Infrastructure, Journal of International Business Research, Vol. 8.
