A Post-Award Kickoff Meeting is Vital to Contract Success

Bids have been considered, the contract has been awarded and the signatures are on the dotted lines. The contract manager who guided this process to this point can now sit back and relax, right?

“After a contract has been awarded, you think you’re done but actually, no,” said Christie Harris, MA, an adjunct faculty member for Villanova University’s Contract Management program. “Contract administration is a big part of contracting.”

Contract administration begins with a post-award kickoff meeting (or, if the U.S. government is one of the parties, a post-award orientation conference). This event gathers together all of a contract’s stakeholders to review the document in detail, ensure that all parties are on the same page with the contract’s stipulations and to resolve any conflicts before they arise.

Villanova’s Essentials of Government Contract Management course teaches that the post-award kickoff event can either be the starting point for success or failure depending on how well the meeting is planned and executed.

When and Where Does a Post-Award Kickoff Meeting Take Place?

Harris, who is a contracting officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said she schedules the post-award meeting within five to seven business days of the contract being signed.

She said the meeting can be held offsite but that “nine times out of 10” it takes place at a government facility, such as Harris’ workplace.

As taught in the course, the meeting could even take place over the telephone or by email, “if there’s not a lot of complexity.” 

Who’s Invited to the Kickoff Meeting?

The program manager and the contracting officer, or the contracting officer’s representative (COR) must attend the meeting. Depending on the project and the number of stakeholders, the roster of attendees can be longer.

A team representing the government can include a technical specialist, end user, as well as representatives from the legal and budget departments, Harris said.

On the other side, the contractor assembles a team from his or her organization that can include the program manager, the business developer, representatives of the organization’s leadership and key personnel related to the project. The organization’s president may also be in attendance, “depending on the dollar value of the contract,” Harris said.

What Happens at the Post-Award Meeting?

The Essentials of Government Contract Management course refers to the post-award kickoff as “a meet and greet,” and while it’s more than that, having stakeholders on both sides meet face-to-face is significant.

“We introduce each other and give each other business cards, and everyone knows who’s who,” Harris said. “Now we have faces to names.”

The focus then turns to the meeting’s agenda.

“Prior to this meeting I’ve created an agenda and I’ve sent it to the contractor, program manager and whoever else is connected to this contract that I’ve been working with,” Harris said.

Besides letting attendees know the meeting’s itinerary, it also provides them with a chance to ask questions or suggest additions to the agenda.

“That way there’s no ‘Gotcha,’” Harris said. ”We’re all on the same team. That’s what I express at the orientation meeting. Now we are working on the same team toward a goal that supports the mission of this agency.”

The kickoff meeting is an opportunity to clarify the roles, rules and boundaries of the contract, according to the course, which describes the meeting as a chance for the stakeholders to establish a methodology to deal with problems before they occur.

Communication and Clarity is Key

One of the goals of the meeting should be establishing a communication plan.

Having a plan is essential in case the two sides have a conflict over some part of the contract. Also, it’s important to set a time limit for resolving conflicts and establish who is charged with reaching a resolution.

Resolving contract issues should take place as far down the chain of command as possible. If there is an issue, “people at the lowest level are going to address it. If they can’t resolve it, they move it up to the next level of management,” according to the course.

“The contracting officer should be the last person to receive an issue,” according to the course. “If possible, lower levels should try to resolve it before it gets to the contracting officer.”

The kickoff meeting also is important for providing stakeholders with a contact in the event they need assistance or guidance or have an issue with some element of the contract.

Harris said her message to stakeholders is this: “If there’s anything that the government is impeding, if you have issues, let me know what you need to get your job done.”

Harris said her primary concern is awarding the contract. She delegates many of the contract oversight duties to her contracting officer representative (COR).

Avoid Late Changes

As contracting officer, Harris is the only one who can change something in a contract. Changing a contract at this point in the process, though, is roundly discouraged and should be avoided if at all possible.

Any changes made to a contract at this point are likely to draw the attention of unsuccessful or other contractors that bid on and lost the contract.

Changes likely will bring protests from those unsuccessful contractors, delaying the project specified in the contract and at worst, stymieing it altogether.

The meeting’s length depends on several factors, such as the complexity of the contract and project, and the number and difficulty of conflicts that arise. 

“I find that the longer and more in-depth the meeting is, the less time I have to spend with administrative issues later on,” Harris said. “Let’s put everything on the table, let’s make sure we’re clear and on the same page as we’re starting out, so little administration is needed on the back-end.”

The goal, Harris said, is to have both sides “working together to achieve contract task requirements so that we can achieve the mission goals for the agency.”

Learn from Experience

Villanova’s 100% online Certificate in Contract Management program is designed for professionals who want to pursue a career or advance their expertise in contract management. Courses are taught by active industry practitioners that are experienced in the contract management field.

The curriculum aligns with the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) Contract Management Body of Knowledge and covers how to effectively practice contract management in the public and private sectors. The program can also help students prepare for the Certified Commercial Contract Manager (CCCM), Certified Professional Contract Management (CPCM) and Certified Federal Contract Manager (CFCM) certification exams from NCMA.

“Villanova has a great program in the sense that they have instructors who bring their personal and practical experience to the classroom,” Harris said. “In addition, it is great for learning Agile contracting and preparing to get certified in this field. Passing an exam makes you more attractive to employers because it shows you are very serious about your career path,” she added.