Contract Monitoring
Contract Monitoring
This section establishes the minimum contract monitoring requirements for all Florida Department of Education (FDOE) contract managers. The contract monitoring function protects the interests of all parties. FDOE contract managers will continuously monitor contract activities to ensure that time schedules are being met, projected work units by time periods are being accomplished and other performance goals and objectives of the contract are being achieved. The review occurs for all components of the contracts as may be applicable.
A. PURPOSE
| The purpose of contract monitoring is to ensure that both the FDOE and the contractor are performing in accordance with the contract terms and conditions. The contract manager, however, through continuous monitoring may be able to identify any problems or potential problems that may deviate from the “scope of services” in the contract.. | ||
| A contract manager’s monitoring activities are not and nor should they be considered as comprehensive evaluations or audits of the contractor’s abilities to perform the services or the financial stability. | ||
| The Office of Contracts, Grants and Procurement, Monitoring Section has the sole responsibility of risk analysis and discretion of performing due-diligence reviews of the contractor and its sub-contractors prior to and anytime during contract periods. | ||
B. SUB-CONTRACTORS
| The contract manager is NOT responsible for monitoring the relationship between the contractor and any of its sub-contractors. However, this does not preclude the contract manager from monitoring or ensuring that the primary contractor is performing his/her duties and responsibilities under the terms of the contract even if through sub-contractors. The contract manager has a responsibility to ask for documentation verifying that the contractor is monitoring or auditing its subcontractors to insure required performance and follow-up on any corrective actions that have been identified. | ||
C. PREPARING FOR CONTRACT MONITORING
Adequate preparation and planning for continuous contract monitoring will provide timely identification of contract deviations and expedite completion of the contract requirements. Each contract manager is responsible for planning contract monitoring activities with the contractor before examining records or visiting providers. Contract monitoring plans are dynamic and may be amended, as additional information becomes available. At all times, however, the monitoring plan should reflect a scope of review that is commensurate with the contractor’s risk level.
| 1. | Contract managers should carefully review each contract for which they are responsible and develop an individual monitoring checklist for review and verification of contract requirements. | ||
This checklist should include but is not limited to the following as may be applicable to the specific contract:
| ¨ | Reports to be submitted and due dates. | ||
| ¨ | Source documentation that will be used to verify services. | ||
| ¨ | Interviews that may be conducted. | ||
| ¨ | Schedule of deliverables and due dates. | ||
| ¨ | Schedule of anticipated outcomes or projections of performance and cost. | ||
| ¨ | Schedule of monitoring and/or on-site visits as well as a clear description of how these activities will be performed. | ||
| 2. The contract manager’s supervisor is responsible for reviewing monitoring activities of contracts assigned to each contract manager within the section, and will at a minimum: |
| a. Track the progress and completion of the contract monitoring schedules of each contract. | |
| b. Report delays or problems that have an impact on the completion of schedule contract to their supervisor. | |
| c. Review contract monitoring plans with their supervisor and the Office of Contracts, Grants and Procurement, Monitoring Section. | |
| d. | As appropriate, periodically accompany contract managers on site-visits. |
D. FREQUENCY OF MONITORING
| Each monitoring plan should include frequency of specified monitoring activities. Contracts should be monitored from the inception to the completion in accordance with the monitoring plan. If the risk analysis changes during the contract period, then the frequency of monitoring activities should change accordingly. Site visits should be planned at least quarterly for applicable contracts. | |||
| E. GENERAL CATEGORIES OF MONITORING |
| Monitoring of contracts efforts fall into two general areas: programmatic and fiscal. | ||
| 1. PROGRAMMATIC | ||
| Programmatic monitoring deals more specifically with compliance of program requirements and answers the question, “Are we getting what we contracted for?” Key questions to ask in programmatic monitoring: |
| s | Has the provider adequately demonstrated the satisfactory delivery of services as required by the agreement? | ||
| s | Were outcomes or goals identified in the agreement accomplished? | ||
| s | Was information from reports verified against provider’s source documents? | ||
| s | Have all terms and conditions of the contract and attachments been met and maintained from one monitoring period to the next? | ||
| s | Is there any indication that the contractor may not be able to fulfill remaining obligations? | ||
| s | Is the contractor sub-contracting any or all of the work? | ||
| 2. FISCAL |
| Fiscal monitoring answers the question “Did we get what we paid for?” Key objectives of financial monitoring: |
| Ñ | Determining if funds were properly accounted for. | ||
| Ñ | Determining that expenditures were made in accordance with applicable rules and regulations; were authorized by the agreement; were directly related to the project; and were properly supported by documentation. | ||
| Ñ | Verification that total payments were within the limits set by the agreement. | ||
F. CONTRACT MONITORING METHODS AND ACTIVITIES
| The review and evaluation of the Provider’s performance and compliance with the contract terms and conditions is considered “contract monitoring.” In general this function is accomplished by a combination of activities, tasks and methods to ensure that contractors are fulfilling contractual obligations. Monitoring techniques and timetables should be clearly defined and coordinated with the contractor in the monitoring plan. | ||
| METHODS OF MONITORING |
| There are several methods of performing the actual monitoring activities or tasks and one |
or a combination of the recommended methods below can be used. See the Exhibits for samples of forms used.
| (a) | Joint Contract Monitoring. The FDOE Contract Administration Office may recommend or the contract manager may seek assistance from other FDOE staff or stakeholders to assist in monitoring. | ||
| (b) | Unscheduled Visits. Contract managers may conduct unscheduled site visits with the approval of the responsible FDOE supervisor and FDOE Contract Administration Office Manager, if there is sufficient reason to believe that a problem exists or such a visit is warranted. | ||
| (c) | Contractor Self-Evaluation Survey. A contact manager may want to develop a self-evaluation for the contracts to complete on a regularly scheduled basis, prior to monitoring visits. The evaluation could be the document or checklist that the contract manger uses for monitoring. | ||
G. MONITORING REPORTS
| The contract manager should document all monitoring activities and the outcomes. Periodically, a written report will be prepared and include at a minimum all of the below elements (see the Appendix for sample report format): | ||
| § | Contractor name and address | ||
| § | Contractor’s contract manager | ||
| § | Contract number. | ||
| § | FDOE Contract Manager | ||
| § | Description of contract services. | ||
| § | Date and location of monitoring | ||
| § | Results to date based on contract deliverables and monitoring activities. | ||
| § | Comments from the contractor | ||
| § | Summary of contract compliance findings | ||
| § | List of areas needing corrective action, reasons, and recommendations. | ||
| § | Comparison of actual outputs/outcomes to expected outputs/outcomes. | ||
1. CORRECTIVE ACTION
| o | Contract managers will consult with their supervisors where corrective action is warranted. | ||
| o | Contract managers will use professional judgment in determining need for management consultation on other matters prior to report distribution. | ||
| 2. DISTRIBUTION OF REPORTS |
| o | The final written report will be distributed upon completion to the contract managers’ supervisor, the contractor and the Contract Administration Office. | ||
H. CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN (CAP)
Corrective action means any steps that must be taken by the contractor to correct identified deficiencies, produce recommended improvements, or demonstrate that deficiencies or findings are either invalid or do not warrant action. Corrective action is recommended when identified deficiencies are serious (for example, failure to ensure customer safety) or where less formal means have failed.
| 1. ADDRESSING DEFICIENCIES |
| (a) | Document the deficiency and recommended corrective action in the monitoring report. | ||
| (b) | Notify the contractor both verbally and in writing that a problem has been identified and the expectation for correcting the problem or, if appropriate, ask the contractor to advise how the problem will be corrected. | ||
| (c) | Specify a date or time when the FDOE can expect the problem to be resolved or action taken. Or, if appropriate, instruct the contractor on the timeframe for implementing corrective action. | ||
| (d) | Document conversations with the contractor by a memo to the contract file and/or follow up with written letter to the contractor. | ||
2. FOLLOW-UP
The contract manager should follow up with the contractor regularly to ensure that corrective actions are being met. The contract file should be documented as to the date follow-up took place, results and any further recommended actions.
If anytime the contract manger does not feel that the contractor is making sufficient progress in meeting corrective actions he/she should consult with their supervisor regarding the possibility of terminating the contract or invoking any financial sanctions that are permissible under the terms and conditions of the contract.
3. MAJOR OR POTENTIALLY CONTROVERSIAL DEFICIENCIES
| Major or controversial deficiencies are subject to the contract manager’s judgment and knowledge of the situation and or contractor. If the contact manager feels that the issue fits either major or controversial categories, they will consult with their supervisor who may then refer the concern to the FDOE General Counsel’s Office or the Office of Contracts, Grants and Procurement/Monitoring Section. |
Contract Management & Accountability Training Manual