25th Annual Conference - The Impact of Contracts on Project Behaviour and Outcome

25th Annual Conference 19th – 20th September 2007 The era when the best thing to do with the contract was to ‘leave it in the drawer’ is past. We now work in all sorts of different relationships which need to be underpinned by a contract that rewards individuals and organisations for adopting the right behaviours for hitting project goals and for working as a team when problems hit. Examples of innovations in this area, designed to integrate the contract with good management in all its aspects will be set out and discussed at this conference. Their application to various project sectors will be discussed. The relevance of legal input to design of contracts and the ‘bespoke versus off the shelf’ argument will be reviewed. We are pleased to have attracted experts in this field – Dr Martin Barnes, recognised as the “architect” of the New Engineering Contract, will set the scene by discussing the way in which the contract can impact upon the success of the project. Ms Sally Roe, partner at Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer, will share the outcome of her research into the effect of the chain of relationships between client, main contractor and subcontractors on the contract performance. Mr Danny Grand of KBR and Mr Ken Jackson of NUKEM will offer their own experiences of alliancing and of the impact of contracts upon risk. Following each of these speakers there will be an opportunity for delegates to discuss and debate the issues raised in small groups; groups will be challenged with questions specific to each speaker and at every group session the question will be asked: What can be done to implement improvements? The second day of the conference will be rounded up by Mr Robin Sieger, international best selling author and corporate success strategist. Sir Robert Walmsley, KCB, Chairman of the Major Projects Association will chair the conference.