b'then (often) the contract is put in a drawer and rarely seen again which frequently means that the delivery of the contract fails to achieve its potential through lack of oversight.Some estimates of this atrophying of value through neglect run as high as 70% of the potential value of a public contract, a loss that can be ill afforded in the present financial climate. The benefits are obvious but, given the changes in procedure and culture the changes require, how it might work in practice is less clear.Against this background, Local Government Lawyer and Trowers & Hamlins conducted a survey of both in-house procurement lawyers and procurement professionals on the extent that effective contract management measures are in place and being utilised. Sixty-two people took part in total, with an even split of lawyers and procurement staff. When the research was complete, an online roundtable comprised of lawyers, procurement professionals and consultants met to put some flesh on the bones of the survey results.Some of the outcomes identified from this process suggest there is much to do if public authorities are to extract maximum value from the delivery of their contract requirements. Contract management - Knowledge is powerUnderpinning the Procurement Acts enhanced focus on whole life contract management is the use of key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the performance of a contract and to justify enforcement of financial or other penalties if a contractor falls short.The survey results show that many public authorities are not utilising KPIs and other contract management tools available to them as much as they might.The survey of procurement professionals and legal staff shows that only a little over a third of these staff (36%) are always or usually involved in setting KPIs (CHART 1) and even fewer engage in monitoring, measuring or reporting on contract KPIs.Moreover, at present only 30% of the public authorities surveyed always or usually keep an auditable evidence file on the performance of KPIs. While some authorities clearly do have their ducks in a row in this regard, this is the exception rather than the norm, due to combination of organisational responsibility and a lack of resources. It is far from unusual for procurement and legal teams to remove themselves from the process almost entirely once the contract has been procured.Contract management in public sector organisations is poor, one respondent recorded on the survey, echoing many similar comments. Our own internal audit has identified poor practices and record keeping, but as with everything procurement-related, it is not always given high priority to fix. Contract managers are usually staff within the service area allocated the contract 4'