A public contract can be properly awarded and still create delivery problems later if the practicalities of managing it have not been tested before signature.

That’s one of the clearest lessons from the UK Government’s Contract Management Playbook. Contract management isn’t something that begins once the supplier has been appointed. The Playbook describes it as an activity that can span the pre-award, award and post-entry stages of a contract, including monitoring performance, identifying risks, managing change and taking action to protect public money and secure value throughout the contract lifecycle.

This lifecycle view is important because many of the decisions that shape contract delivery are made before the contract is signed. 

By the time the contract is signed, the authority may already have defined the requirement, chosen the performance measures, agreed the payment process, and written its own obligations into the contract. These choices shape how easy or difficult it will be to monitor delivery, hold the supplier to account, resolve issues, approve changes, and demonstrate that the contract is delivering what it was meant to deliver.

If the people responsible for managing the contract are only brought in after award, they may inherit a contract that is technically complete but difficult to manage. So before signing, public buyers shouldn’t only ask: “Are we ready to award this contract?” but also “Has this contract been tested from a delivery perspective?”

In many organisations, contract managers become most involved after award. But the Playbook encourages contract managers to contribute during the pre-award stages so that requirements, performance measures, governance, mobilisation planning and resources are realistic from the start. 

So here are 7 questions every public buyer should be able to answer before the contract is signed. 

 

1. Can the requirement be managed in practice? 

A requirement can look clear during procurement, but still create uncertainty during delivery. 

For example, a specification may describe the service or goods required, but not make clear how delivery will be accepted, what evidence the supplier must provide, what the authority must do in return, or what happens if circumstances change. 

Delivery requirements need to be defined and detailed clearly, and contract managers can help sourcing teams understand what information needs to be established before later procurement activity begins. 

A useful test is: 

Could a contract manager monitor delivery against this requirement without having to reinterpret it later? 

Before signing, buyers should check whether the contract makes clear: 

• what the supplier must deliver, by when and to what standard
• What evidence proves delivery 
• Who accepts the deliverable 
• What the authority must provide to enable delivery 
• What happens if the delivery is late, partial or disputed 

This is where contract management experience is valuable. Contract managers often know which obligations caused confusion in previous contracts, where suppliers misunderstood requirements, and where internal dependencies were underestimated. 

The goal is to make requirements both legally sound and operationally clear.

 

2. Are the authority’s own obligations clear?

Contract management is often discussed as if it’s mainly about holding suppliers to account, but that’s only one part of the picture. In reality, contract management involves ensuring both parties adhere to their contractual obligations. 

This matters because suppliers often depend on the authority to provide information, approvals, access, decisions, purchase orders, feedback or data. If those internal obligations aren’t clear, supplier performance can suffer and they might miss milestones because they didn’t receive what they needed. 

In turn, the authority may struggle to enforce performance because its own dependencies weren’t met. Delivery discussions can then become arguments about who caused the delay. 

Before signing, buyers should ask:

What must we do for the supplier to succeed? 

For each important authority obligation, there should be clarity on: 

• Who owns it internally 
• When it must happen
• What the supplier depends on
• How it will be tracked 
• Whether the responsible teams have capacity to deliver 

This is one of the most practical reasons to involve contract managers early. They can help identify the buyer-side obligations that are easy to overlook during procurement but critical during delivery. 

 

3. Are the performance measures usable? 

Performance measures shouldn’t only look good in the contract. They need to work during contract management.

Contract managers can add value when supplier scorecards, SLAs and KPIs are being developed. Performance measures should also be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. 

So before signing, buyers should ask:

Can we collect, validate and act on the data behind this performance measure? 

For each major KPI, SLA or scorecard measure, check: 

• What exactly is being measured 
• What data proves performance 
• Who provides the data and how often 
• Whether the authority can validate it 
• What happens if the supplier misses the target 
  

When you’re developing performance measures, you should consider data availability and the ease of reporting, collecting and validating that data. Because if a KPI can’t be evidenced, it won’t support effective performance management. Instead, it may create confusion, manual work or disputes. 

Good contract management depends on usable evidence, and that evidence needs to be designed before the contract is signed. 

 

4. Is the governance proportionate to the contract? 

Not every contract needs the same level of governance. 

A low-risk, transactional contract may only need light-touch management. A complex, high-value or critical contract may need regular performance reviews, formal escalation routes, risk discussions, finance oversight, change approval processes and senior visibility. 

The Playbook highlights proportionality as one of its key policies. It says contract management activities should be tailored to the specific needs of each contract, considering factors such as size, value, criticality and complexity. 

Therefore, before signing, buyers should ask: 

Does the governance model match the contract’s importance and risk? 

That means being clear on: 

• Who owns the contract and supplier relationship and performance management
• Which meetings will take place, and who needs to attend these meetings 
• What information will be reviewed 
• What gets escalated, and to whom
• How decisions, risks, issues and changes will be recorded 

Too little governance can leave issues hidden until they become serious. Too much governance can create unnecessary burden for both buyer and supplier. Proportionate governance gives the right people the right information at the right time. 

 

5. Has the management effort been resourced? 

A contract can be well-produced and still poorly managed if nobody has the time, skills or authority to manage it properly. 

Contract management resource requirements should be planned at the business case stage, so the correct amount of resources can be allocated, budgeted and governed in time for mobilisation and delivery.  

Before signing, buyers should ask: 

Do we have the capacity and capability to manage this contract well? 

This includes questions such as: 

• How much contract management time will be needed
• Whether commercial, finance, legal, operational or technical input is required
• Who will review supplier reports, invoices, spend and obligations
• Who will manage risks, issues, meetings and actions
• What happens if the named contract manager changes role

A single contract manager may be able to manage several smaller transactional contracts, while larger and more complex contracts may require a dedicated contract management team with strong commercial expertise. 

This is a useful reminder that contract management effort should reflect the contract, not internal habit. If the resource model is unrealistic, the contract is already carrying delivery risk before it even begins. 

 

6. Is there a handover plan? 

The transition from procurement to contract management is a common point of weakness. 

A single handover meeting after the award is rarely enough. By that stage, important context may already have been lost: why the requirement was written in a certain way, what suppliers said during market engagement, which assumptions sit behind the pricing model, what risks were identified, or what commitments the winning supplier made.

Before signing, buyers should ask: 

What information must be transferred so the contract can be managed effectively from day one? 

A useful handover pack should include: 

• The final contract, schedules and specification
• The business case or summary of intended outcomes
• The supplier’s relevant proposal commitments
• Key assumptions, risks and dependencies
• Pricing, payment and reporting information
• Agreed performance measures
• Mobilisation expectations and key contacts
  

The point isn’t to only transfer documents, but understanding. Contract managers need to know not just what the contract says, but why it says it.

 

7 Can we explain how this contract will deliver outcomes?

The final question is the most important. 

The Playbook connects contract management to the delivery of value, high-quality services and successful contract outcomes. It also says contract management is naturally outcome-focused, with KPIs, SLAs, risks, issues, changes and delivery schedules acting as key milestones to monitor whether obligations are being met and outcomes fulfilled. 

Before signing, buyers should ask: 

Can we explain how this contract will deliver the outcome it was created for? 

The explanation should be practical, not abstract.

It should be possible to explain: 

• What outcome the contract is meant to achieve 
• Which obligations and supplier activities support that outcome
• Which performance measures show progress 
• Which internal teams must contribute 
• What risks could stop the outcome being achieved 
• How performance, issues and learning will be reviewed 

If the answers are unclear, the contract may be ready to award but not designed for delivery. 

This distinction matters because public procurement doesn’t end with signed contracts. The real test is whether the contract delivers the goods, works or services it was created to provide. 

 

From ready to award to ready to manage

The Contract Management Playbook doesn’t suggest that contract managers should replace procurement teams. It suggests that contract management knowledge should shape the contract before it’s signed.

That means testing requirements for manageability. Making buyer-side obligations visible. Designing performance measures around usable data. Setting proportionate governance. Resourcing the management effort. Planning handover properly. Keeping the focus on outcomes.

For public buyers, the lesson is simple: a contract should not only be compliant. It should be designed for delivery.

And that work starts before signature.