b"without significantcalled for as the additional cost orMore stringent KPIs could alsoProcurement Acts resource.stipulations about the have the effect of increasing thereporting of KPIs One procurementcost of contracts if bidders feelbeds in and the manager relayed her experience that thethat operating the contract willmarketplace try to make sense of the contractingbe more expensive for them.performance departments at herIts an increasingly difficultinformation that is local authority wantednow being made to set a very high barbalance between risk and cost. available.for their KPIs and that she often faced aConversely one size battle to make themfits all may not more realistic.produce the desired outcomes, but it was More stringent KPIs could also have thegenerally felt that, due to resource effect of increasing the cost of contracts ifconstraints, some degree of standardisation bidders feel that operating the contract willis inevitable. The only way we can do it be more expensive for them. Its anpragmatically, is probably having some KPIs increasingly difficult balance between risktailored for particular service areas, that and cost, she said. service managerscan then use and amend for themselves, said one participant.A further question that arose was whetherWho drafts KPIs?KPIs should be broadly standardised across an organisation, whether overall or at leastThe challenges of drafting, monitoring and by category of contract. There was someenforcing KPIs are such that it was generally scepticism at the roundtable thatagreed that formulating the KPIs should be a standardisation would lead to effective KPIs;collaborative effort between the lawyers, however pragmatically some form ofprocurement team and the department that standardisation would be helpful for thewill manage the contracteach will have purposes of comparison. their own skills and experience to bring to Too many bespoke KPIs may mean that thebear on creating relevant and effective KPIs. monitoring and enforcement of themWhat happens in reality may be a different becomes unmanageable. Standardisationstory, however (CHART 3).would also have benefits of cross-sector I'm not sure whether the procurement folks comparison and this may become morethink it's a service - or commissioner-6"