Briefly describe the initiative/ project/service; please include your aims and objectives

MCC is renowned for doing things differently and, as a result, has a wide range of diverse and innovative models in place to deliver effective services and to derive value from the unique commercial opportunities available to the city. The council established a well\-resourced and effective centralised procurement team in the early 2000s. The intention was to ensure that procurement covered by procurement regulations was all carried out compliantly but also that the team, positioned within the Treasurer’s Department, would be well placed to ensure effective financial management of contracts and that any savings opportunities were identified and realised. It became clear over time that contracts underpin all aspects of service delivery and therefore that good contract management is central to effective performance across the council. It was also recognised that it is essential to make sure that any innovation used in the design of contracts is delivered throughout the life of the contract and that an understanding of contract performance is also central to continuous improvement and informing the next iteration of contracts on expiry.

Finally, it is clear that continuity is key to a good relationship between “clients” and “contractors” but, as people move into different positions within either side of that relationship, it is vital to understand contracts and performance so that changes in personnel don’t lead to a drop in performance of contracts that are essential to overall performance of the council is delivering the needs of citizens. In the late 2010s it was also recognised that there was a disparity in approach to establishing and managing contracts within services where the procurement regulations are not quite as prescriptive. A commissioning team was set up to work alongside the procurement team to address this and, over a period of 2\-3 years, this developed to provide a centralised approach to all contracts across the council.

The two sections were formally merged in 2019 to create an Integrated Commissioning and Procurement Team working across the council which mirrors the approach of the iNetwork Connected Procurement and Commissioning Workstream. The immediate objective of this “merger” was to address a clear issue that contract managers across the council did not have a shared understanding of their responsibilities in respect of contract management. The consequences of this were that essential milestones such as ongoing due diligence, contract performance review, decisions around extension and/or retendering of contracts were not visible and frequently missed.

In addition, although contract monitoring meetings were taking place, the results were not always available to officers outside of those attending such meetings – often remaining in individual’s inboxes or handwritten notebooks. One of the first considerations for the project was that engagement with contract managers across the council was central to the success of the project as buy-in is always required for successful implementation of any significant change to ways of working. Engagement with all directorates led to the establishment of a Contract Managers Group which was set up to discuss how arrangements could be improved and to obtain views from all concerned about what would work for them. This led to development of priorities for the project and ultimately the development of a set of requirements for a system that were used to procure a digital contract management system.

The priorities that were set include:

1. Developing a common approach to recording contract performance management

2. Establishing a council\-wide contracts register which gives central visibility of all contracts so that key milestones are clearly understood.

The project’s overarching aim was to embed a culture of consistent, accountable contract management across the council. By implementing a single digital system, MCC sought to eliminate siloed practices, improve compliance and enable strategic oversight of all commercial activity. The objectives included:

• Creating a live, council\-wide contract register for transparency and forward planning.

• Standardising performance monitoring, including social value and environmental KPIs, to ensure commitments made at tender stage are delivered throughout the contract lifecycle. • Streamlining approval workflows to reduce delays and provide auditable decision\-making.

• Enhancing reporting capability to support Scrutiny Committees and Senior Leadership with accurate, real\-time data.

• Preparing for future legislative requirements under the Procurement Act 2023, including pipeline notices and KPI publication. This initiative reflects the principles of connected procurement and commissioning by integrating systems, processes, and people to deliver improved outcomes for citizens and greater value for money.

What are the key achievements?

The implementation of MCC’s Contract Management System has delivered significant achievements against its original objectives and created additional benefits that have transformed the way the council manages contracts. Achievement of Core Objectives:

• Council-wide visibility: A live register of over 1,000 contracts and frameworks now provides a single source of truth, replacing fragmented spreadsheets and inbox-based records. This ensures that key milestones such as review dates, extensions, and expiry dates are visible across all services.

• Standardised performance monitoring: The system enables consistent recording of contract performance, including social value and environmental KPIs. Previously, performance data was dispersed and often inaccessible; now, it is captured centrally and can be reported accurately.

• Improved governance and accountability: Approval workflows have been digitised, reducing delays and ensuring auditable decision-making. Strategic Directors can approve awards, extensions, and variations within the system, eliminating reliance on email chains.

• Forward planning: The system supports proactive planning for renewals and extensions. Contract managers can review performance information well in advance of discussions with suppliers, ensuring informed decisions about future options.

• Reliable reporting: Scrutiny Committees and Senior Leadership now receive performance reports based on accurate, realtime data. Previously, confidence in the accuracy of reports was limited; the system provides robust evidence for oversight and decision-making. Additional Benefits:

• Compliance with Procurement Act 2023: The central contract register is core to meeting new legislative requirements. The system enables:

o Publication of pipeline notices for contracts over £2m. o Publication of KPIs for major contracts over £5m.

o Setting and monitoring milestones for transparency on contract start, end, and variation dates.

 • Cultural change: The project has instilled awareness of responsibilities and fostered genuine interest in contract management among managers. Engagement during implementation created ownership and improved compliance.

• Efficiency gains: Manual processes have been replaced with automated alerts for key tasks and deadlines. This reduces risk of missed milestones and improves productivity.

• Simplified sign\-off process: Previously, awarding contracts involved lengthy reports circulated by email, often causing delays. The system now provides a streamlined, digital workflow for approvals, extensions, and variations.

• Central repository for strategic priorities: Social value and climate change commitments, along with service delivery indicators, are recorded in one place, avoiding reliance on multiple systems and enabling integrated reporting.

• Integration with finance: The system provides visibility of almost all contract spend and allows comparison with MCC’s finance system, improving financial oversight and accountability.

Anecdotal Evidence: Buyers using the finance system now have more control and confidence when approving purchase orders because they can easily access contract information and award approvals in Atamis. We frequently receive requests from staff asking how to add projects into Atamis so they can obtain approval; this demonstrates that governance processes are embedded and that contract oversight is now a priority. Once a contract is approved, it is added to the system, ensuring transparency and compliance throughout its lifecycle.

Impact and Reach:

• Adoption: Six directorates and approximately 480 users are actively using the system. Following a soft launch in April 2024, full adoption was achieved within six months.

• External influence: MCC has presented its approach to senior management, GMCA, and other local authorities. STAR Procurement is now implementing Atamis following MCC’s demonstration, evidencing sector-wide impact.

• Future enhancements: Work is underway to onboard suppliers for direct KPI reporting, further improving contract performance management and transparency. This initiative has exceeded its original aims by not only standardising contract management but also embedding a culture of accountability, improving compliance, and positioning MCC as a leader in innovative procurement and commissioning practices.

How Innovative is your initiative?

This initiative is highly innovative because it fundamentally changes how Manchester City Council approaches contract management, moving from fragmented, manual processes to a fully integrated, digital-first model that sets a new standard for local government.

Transforming traditional practices: Previously, contract management relied on spreadsheets, email chains, and siloed approaches within individual directorates. Performance data was inconsistent, approvals were delayed, and there was limited visibility of contract milestones. MCC recognised these challenges and introduced a single, council-wide Contract Management System (CMS) that connects procurement, commissioning, finance, and contract management functions in one platform.

First of its kind integration: MCC is among the first councils to merge procurement and commissioning teams and embed their processes into a digital system. This integration ensures that every stage of the contract lifecycle, from planning and approval to performance monitoring and renewal, is captured in one place. The system supports all contract types, including frameworks, direct awards, and grants, making it a truly comprehensive solution.

Co-design and continuous improvement: The council worked closely with Atamis to shape the system’s functionality, providing feedback that has influenced product development. MCC’s requirements, such as advanced KPI tracking for social value and environmental outcomes, have pushed boundaries beyond standard contract management features. This collaborative approach means MCC is not just a user but a driver of innovation in the sector.

Future-proofing for legislation: The system was designed with the Procurement Act 2023 in mind, embedding compliance requirements ahead of statutory deadlines. Features include automated pipeline notices for contracts over £2m, KPI reporting for contracts over £5m, and transparency on contract variations. By anticipating these changes, MCC has positioned itself as a leader in proactive compliance.

Data-driven decision-making: Innovation is not just about technology, it’s about outcomes. The CMS enables real\-time reporting and dashboards that provide senior leadership and Scrutiny Committees with accurate, evidence-based insights. This level of visibility was previously impossible and represents a step-change in governance and accountability.

Cultural transformation: The project has driven a cultural shift within MCC. Contract managers now have clear responsibilities and tools to manage performance effectively. Anecdotal evidence shows that buyers on the finance system actively seek to have projects added into Atamis to obtain approvals, demonstrating that governance processes are embedded and valued. This behavioural change is as innovative as the technology itself.

Sector-wide influence: MCC has shared its approach widely, presenting to GMCA, STAR Procurement, and other local authorities. STAR is now implementing Atamis following MCC’s demonstration, evidencing the ripple effect of this innovation across Greater Manchester and beyond.

Beyond compliance—strategic impact: The system does more than meet regulatory requirements. It enables MCC to track social value and climate commitments, integrate with finance for spend visibility and plan future procurements strategically. These capabilities transform contract management from an administrative task into a strategic function that supports the council’s objectives for sustainability, value for money and improved outcomes for citizens.

Risk-taking and ambition: Implementing a system of this scale required significant investment, organisational change and risk management. MCC took bold steps to challenge entrenched practices, secure buy-in from multiple directorates and deliver a solution that is now regarded as best practice. In summary, this initiative is innovative because it combines technology, process redesign, cultural change and legislative foresight to deliver a model that others are now seeking to replicate.

What are the key learning points?

As evidenced in previous sections, there has been considerable interest in this project across GMCA and with fellow iNetwork member authorities. The council also participates in other regional and national forums and the progress made on Contract Management has been shared with the following groups: Core Cities Procurement Leads, Cooperative Councils Innovation Network, The LGA National Advisory Group, The Government Commercial Function Contract Management Alumni Group, the AGMA/GM Contract Management Leads Group and others with an open invitation to share learning and support any other authorities or government departments to improve contract management practices.

Manchester City Council operates a shared procurement service with Bolton Council and there is an agreement in principle to implement the Atamis system within the next 12 months. A key learning point from the project has been the value of taking a collaborative, co-designed approach. The development and implementation were carefully planned to ensure that all potential users of the system would buy into the project, understand the benefits and take part in shaping the system requirements so that there is a sense of shared ownership of the system – it has been co-designed with colleagues rather than implemented with a heavy handed mandated approach.

The successful implementation and widespread use of the system across the council evidence that this approach was effective. There were also challenges that generated important lessons for future work. The first was the wide variation in existing contract management practices across directorates, which made it clear that a ‘one size fits all’ assumption would have undermined the project. Engaging early with those services helped the team to understand differing needs, agree common standards and develop training and guidance that were both realistic and practical. This reinforced the need for patience, iterative design and strong communication throughout major change programmes. Cultural change presented another challenge.

Shifting long-established habits required ongoing support, visibility of senior leadership backing and constant reinforcement of the benefits. The project demonstrated that people adopt new systems more readily when they see clear, tangible improvements to their day-to-day work, such as the streamlined approvals process and reduced reliance on email chains. As contract managers began to experience these efficiencies, engagement and compliance increased significantly. The project has also highlighted the importance of reliable, centralised data for effective planning and decision making. Before the system was introduced, it was difficult to access consistent information about milestones, extensions and performance. The new central register has shown how transformational it is to have a single source of truth that supports forward planning, scrutiny and reporting.

A key learning point for others is that visibility alone can drive improvements in governance and prompt earlier, more informed conversations with suppliers. Efficiency savings have been clearly achieved at all levels, although difficult to quantify precisely. The time saved through automated workflows, easier access to contract information and more efficient performance monitoring has been felt by staff ranging from Strategic Directors to operational managers. This will continue to grow as the system matures.

Another important learning point emerged through integration work. The Commissioning Team have paved the way for the system to link to the council’s new ERP system so that spend can be linked to contracts, improving financial control and data accuracy as the new ERP system goes live later this year. The lesson for others is the importance of aligning contract management reforms with wider digital transformation activity to maximise the value of both.

Overall, the initiative is highly replicable and scalable. MCC’s experience has demonstrated that the core principles, codesign, strong engagement, clear standards, effective training and alignment with finance and performance systems, can be adopted by any organisation, regardless of size or structure. The Council is committed to sharing its learning widely so that others can benefit form the successes achieved and avoid the challenges encountered along the way.

Additional Comments

MCC has shared its approach widely through presentations and discussions with other authorities, generating strong interest in replicating the model. Internally, governance has improved; teams now actively seek to add projects into the system for approvals, ensuring oversight and compliance. MCC will continue enhancing KPI reporting and sharing best practice across the sector.