Guidance

Civil Service: helping you with managing contracts and suppliers

Updated 18 April 2024

1. About the programme

The Contract Management Capability Programme courses (pdf, 512 kb) has been running for over four years now. It forms a fundamental part of the Government’s commitment to investing in training & development to help contract management professionals better manage contracts and relationships with suppliers.

The Government demands that the public purse sees value for money and service delivery efficiency from the £300m annual public sector spend on external contracts that invest in, for example, the construction of schools, hospitals and infrastructure, defence, roads, rail, the justice system and the delivery and regulation of front-line services.

To manage these, contract managers from within central government departments and the wider public sector and local government sector must therefore be efficient, effective, skilled and knowledgeable. That is why the Contract Management Capability Programme courses were created; to develop and accredit the contract management professionals who manage or oversee public service contracts.

2. The benefits of the programme

The programme is nationally-recognised and focuses specifically on UK government contracts. It brings:

• a  significant emphasis on experiential learning after guidance from subject matter experts
• through 70/20/10 learning, sharing good practice, discussion & debate on real-life situations, a fundamental understanding of the principles and practices of managing contracts effectively can be secured
• increased knowledge and skills that can be practised and demonstrated back in the workplace
• a natural progression through the modules, and the programme offers both accreditation products and developmental products from entry level through to senior lead
• the flexibility to balance learning with workload
• added value for organisations as their personnel become enabled with greater technical knowledge, more skills and better decision making capabilities.

For organisations, the benefits of the programme are very evident:

The Contract Management Capability Programme

• Having staff undertaking the programme demonstrates that the organisation has skilled personnel leading its projects and managing its contracts and suppliers
• Placing people on the programme reinforces an organisation’s commitment to training and development
• Sessions will encapsulate the different challenges that people from different backgrounds and situations will face, so they will be contemporary, relevant and engaging
• The programme modules are flexible so learners can balance their learning with their workload and workplace commitments.

3. Programme successes

Since the capability development programmes were introduced, we’ve enjoyed a number of successes (pdf, 1,418 kb).

Over 20,000 people from across central government departments and the wider public sector have become Foundation accredited. There are many hundreds more accredited at Practitioner or Expert level, or on their journey to accreditation.

Our programme has seen a 10% skills uplift at accreditation overall, whilst at Practitioner level, more than two-thirds have moved from ‘improver’ to ‘skilled’.

The programme’s coaching facility has brought ‘added value’ to the extent that the pass rate for technical interview at accreditation assessment is now 98%. Indeed, over 70% of learners have taken up the offer of coaching support to help them pass their accreditation assessment.

Satisfaction with the programme is extremely high, with 93% of individual learners rating the learning programmes as very good and excellent.

The combined savings from those contract managers who have completed accredited programmes is now as high as £870 million across a range of contracts.

4. Who should join the programme?

This programme will be of interest to anyone managing government contracts and suppliers from either central government departments, wider public sector organisations, or local authority sector organisations.

If your focus is administrative support, contract management, contract lead, or more policy or strategy-based, this is a capability development programme that will train and accredit those with a role to play in contract management.

Whether a full-time contract management professional or if managing a contract forms only a proportion of your role, there is an accreditation and development course within the programme that will be highly suitable for you.

5. The development and accreditation courses

The courses are the product of collaboration between all government departments and professional bodies and designed with the aim of helping to drive greater efficiency and higher quality services. By taking part, you will also have the opportunity to share best practice and be part of a professional network of contract managers.

There are three training levels of contract management accreditation: Foundation, Practitioner and Expert. The levels are based on the Contract Management Professional Standards which set out the attributes, capabilities, behaviours and technical skills needed to manage any part of the contract lifecycle effectively.

The programme also offers a pathway development course; Beyond Foundation - which bridges the gap between the baseline Foundation accreditation and the more technical Practitioner and Expert accreditations, and coming later in 2023 is the new executive-level Senior Responsible Owner course which is pitched at contract leads and senior officers.

There is a natural flow through the courses, and you can be nominated to join the programme by your line manager.

Most of the modules within the courses on the programme are flexible, so can be undertaken with workload and time constraints in mind. Any group sessions can be booked in advance so you can allow for your circumstances.

Courses are undertaken through the Government Commercial College. It is accessible to all, and there is a user guide to help you register (pdf, 910 kb).

All learners get a Learning and Development Manager assigned to them personally, who will support them throughout their accreditation journey.

Accreditation programmes

Foundation

This is the baseline accreditation, which sets the standard for anyone within central government departments, wider public sector organisations or local authority organisations who works with private sector contractors and suppliers. It forms the basis of the principles and practice of managing contracts and suppliers effectively.

It will be particularly beneficial for anyone working on a government contract (or a number of contracts) of lower value, lower complexity, or lower risk [Bronze contracts]. It will also appeal to anyone for whom working on government contracts forms some part (but not all) of their role.

The Foundation (pdf, 719 kb) level online training (pdf, 1,063 kb) is split into interactive modules, each taking between 60-90 minutes to complete. You can take your time, carry out the modules in any order, and come back to any as a refresher at any point.

Having completed the modules, successfully completing the online assessment will result in accreditation. Achieving accreditation will provide recognition of your contract management expertise, as well as help with creating a common contract management language, diverse knowledge base and skill set across government.

Achieving accreditation at Foundation level is a prerequisite for commencing the Practitioner and Expert courses.

Practitioner

The Practitioner (pdf, 927 kb) accreditation course is for professionals from central government departments, wider public sector organisations or local authority organisations who who manage contracts and suppliers for all, or a significant part of their time.:

It will be particularly beneficial for anyone working on a government contract (or a number of contracts) of medium value, medium complexity, or medium risk [Silver contracts].

The course is a nationally-recognised, structured learning programme comprising 15 modules. It features subject matter-led online workshops, complemented by a couple of Q&A ‘drop-in’ sessions. These are held over 24 weeks.

Accreditation is gained following a successful end assessment (technical interview, exercises and role-play) which gauges contract management expertise, skills and capabilities as set against the Contract Management Professional Standards.

Expert

The Expert (pdf, 972 kb) accreditation is a nationally-recognised, structured learning programme comprising 23 modules. A more strategic-level accreditation, it is suitable for senior contract management professionals, contract decision-makers, and anyone who works on large [Gold] higher-profile, higher risk, contracts as part of their role.

The 32-week programme covers both the operational elements of the Practitioner accreditation and further strategic modules. It features subject matter-led online workshops, complemented by a couple of Q&A ‘drop-in’ sessions.

Accreditation is gained following a successful end assessment (technical interview, exercises and role-play) which gauges contract management expertise, skills and capabilities as set against the Contract Management Professional Standards.

Development programmes

Beyond Foundation

Beyond Foundation (pdf, 3.5 kb) is a pathway programme. It bridges the technical knowledge ‘gap’ between the fundamental understanding of Foundation level and the more technical knowledge needed at Practitioner or Expert level, or when moving on to a Silver or Gold level contract from a Bronze level contract.

It will suit anyone who has responsibility within any of the contract life-cycle stages. The programme focuses on the essential contract management principles and the softer, interpersonal skills - and how to apply these back in the workplace.

Beyond Foundation is ideal for anyone wanting to build a stronger understanding of the technical elements needed to work on larger or more complex contracts, and also wanting to fine tune their understanding of the principles of contract management to be better prepared for the Practitioner or Expert end Assessment. It is also suitable for anyone restarting their personal development and wanting to gain the Practitioner or Expert accreditation after an extended period away.

There are nine concise modules, blended learning, and all completed individually online. Each lasts for around 60 minutes.

Senior Responsible Owner / Senior Business Owner

Senior Responsible Owner (pdf, 7.9 mb) is a new and dynamic executive-level development programme of stand-alone, half-day, modules aimed at Senior Responsible Officers and Senior Business Owners in the second phase, with an initial module open to all suitably experienced professionals as a career development session at the first stage.

It is a strategic-level resource that will aid decision-making and judgement in key areas such as risk, governance, team dynamics and contract challenges - to ensure project and business objectives are met.

The programme uses blended learning. It has a significant emphasis on learning from peer debate, example and information-sharing, and discussion group synergy.

6. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and learning style

All five key courses within the programme are recognised by the CPD Standards Office and as such are Continuing Professional Development (CPD) endorsed.

The courses attract a set points figure for their duration, with time spent on complementary workshops and learning also gaining further points for time spent.

The learning style of the programme is 70/20/10. This represents:

• 70% workplace action - putting the principles into practice in day-to-day tasks and assessing how it takes effect
• 20% learning from peers, sharing good practice, and building your knowledge gained from learning about the experiences of others
• 10% formal training - learning through Government Commercial College and other learning providers.

The programme also offers additional coaching (pdf, 215 kb) sessions to help prepare for assessment. Over 70% of learners take this up, and this has enabled 98% learners to pass their accreditation interviews.

7. Accreditation and next steps

Foundation accreditation is secured after an online assessment. This is the pre-requisite and gateway to further accreditation at Practitioner of Expert level if desired.

Following completion of the Practitioner or Expert modules, learners attend a Virtual Assessment Day Centre comprising interview scenario, simulated role-play, and exercises which assess contract management expertise, skills and capability against the Contract Management Professional Standards.

The accreditations are recognised professional qualifications and transferable across all central government departments. Each is endorsed by: Government Commercial Function, WorldCC, CIPS and CPD Standards Office.

Accreditation is then maintained by evidencing a minimum of 30 hours of Continuous Professional Development per annum over the next five years. This is to ensure continued effectiveness in the role and that accredited individuals are up to date with developments in their profession and good practice.

Government Commercial Organisation employees (Grade 7 and above) are required to become accredited.

8. Contact information

For more information about the programme, accreditation, and being nominated, you can contact: contract-management@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

For more information about how the CPD points apply you can get in touch with : contractmgtcpd@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

For more information about the programme, click on the links in the sections above for further details about each element of the programme.