Social Services Contract Register. Guide for Agency Users May 2016

Transcription

1 Social Services Contract Register Guide for Agency Users May 2016

2 May 2016 New Zealand Government Procurement PO Box 1473 Wellington 6140 New Zealand CROWN COPYRIGHT 2016

3 Contents Why do we need a register?... 4 Where is the register located?... 4 What does the register hold?... 4 What does the register not hold?... 4 Who can access the register?... 4 When should you use the register?... 5 What must you read when you access the register for the first time?... 5 Who can make changes to the register?... 5 How often is the register s information and data updated?... 5 Who makes sure the information and data in contracts are accurate?... 5 How many people can use the register at one time?... 5 How do you get the information and data off the register?... 5 How long does the information and data stay on the register?... 5 What will you use the register for (in detail)?... 5 Doing market analysis of providers... 5 Developing performance measures... 6 Managing or monitoring contracts and services... 6 Planning or doing an audit or an accreditation... 6 Who can you contact for more information about the register?... 6 How does the register work?... 7 Contract Register Log on Page... 8 Logging in... 8 Entering your password... 8 Contract Register Home Page... 9 My Profile... 9 Contracts Searching for specific contract content Searches Saved Searches Exporting contracts Quick reference guide for faults or problems

4 Guide to using the Social Services Contract Register The Social Services Contracts Register (register) is a register that holds the names of social services contracts (contracts) and details about the contracting parties. This guide tells you how to use the register. Why do we need a register? The main aim of the register is to achieve greater collaboration between government agencies when they plan their contract monitoring, reporting and auditing. It provides a single source of contract information. The register helps to achieve this aim, as it shares information about contracts and provides points of contact for departments so they can work together. The register also helps with market analysis, developing performance measures, planning contract monitoring, or planning an audit. You ll find further details about why we need a register later in the main section of this guide. See What will you use the register for (in detail)? The register lets users: find out who is holding what contracts and services identify opportunities to collaborate with other agency personnel involved in contracting activity. So all agency personnel who work with social service providers should know about the register, and how it can work for them and the contracts they work on. Where is the register located? The register is located online. Its information and data are cloud-based. You can access the register from You might like to save the link to your favourites or bookmark it. What does the register hold? The register holds information about contracts. The quantity held is growing all the time, and eventually the register will hold information on contracts and providers working with all of the social sector departments. What does the register not hold? The register: does not hold any documents is not a system for managing grants is not a contract management system. Who can access the register? Only authorised users in government departments can access and view the information and data on the register. You must register to become an authorised user of the register. Access requires a login and password. Keep your password handy. If you forget it, you ll need to click Lost Password. Each participating department has an agency administrator for the register. They arrange access to the system for staff in that department. You should contact your agency administrator if you think you need to access the register. 4

5 When should you use the register? Agency users should use the register when they first work on a contract relating to social services that your department buys. They will find vital details about the provider and the contract, including a description of the contract and the contact details of teams in other departments working with that provider. They will also find out what other services that provider delivers for other government departments. What must you read when you access the register for the first time? When you use the register for the first time, you must read the user guide for agency users. You must also read and understand the Contract Register Acceptable Use Policy. Who can make changes to the register? The register has three levels of user: the agency user (you), the agency administrator, and the system administrator. Only the system administrator can make changes to the register, and only agency administrators can make changes to the register s key content. As an agency user, you can make some changes to the register s content, such as updating your profile. How often is the register s information and data updated? The register is updated twice a year. Each agency will upload any fresh information at those updates. Agency administrators, not you, are responsible for doing this. Who makes sure the information and data in contracts are accurate? Each agency is responsible for checking that the information and data for all their contracts are accurate. The information in the register is drawn from each agency s records. If you identify errors in the information, tell your agency administrator. How many people can use the register at one time? Multiple authorised users can use the register at the same time. Users can access the register from more than one location. How do you get the information and data off the register? You can export data from the register in Excel. You can also print the information and data direct from the register. How long does the information and data stay on the register? A contract can be active, cancelled or expired. A current contract is active. A contract is cancelled if either party terminates it before the expiry date. Once an active contract reaches the expiry date in the register, it automatically changes to expired status. It will still show up on search results, but will be marked as expired. This is because it may be useful for you to know about these services or service providers. What will you use the register for (in detail)? The primary purpose of the register is to support government departments to collaborate when they are both working with a provider who is providing services. You might also want to use the register for market analysis or when developing performance measures. Doing market analysis of providers Provider Market Analysis is done in the early stages of the commissioning or procurement process. It is used to inform decisions on the appropriate service model (i.e. make or buy) and, if a decision is made to procure the services, to inform the decision on the procurement approach (e.g. open tender and direct sources). As part of 5

6 Provider Market Analysis, an agency can use the register to inform analysis of the number of providers operating in a particular sector or geographic area, the types of services they deliver, and the range of purchasing agencies to which they provide services. Developing performance measures Aligning and standardising performance measures helps to streamline contract management and reporting. The register supports this approach, as it lets users identify providers of the same services, or identify other purchasing agencies that are sourcing services from the selected provider or providers. One aim is to use and develop common performance measures where this makes sense. You should use the information in the register to contact other agencies to share information about performance measures. Managing or monitoring contracts and services Contract monitoring includes a range of activities (eg, meetings, visits, review of reports) as part of how the purchasing agency manages service delivery. While contract monitoring is an essential part of contract management, it must be done in a structured and planned way. And it must reflect the risk profile of the engagement and the contract monitoring activity of other purchasing agencies. When a provider works with a number of different agencies the obligations relating to contract management can become challenging. Providers report that they have to give the same information to each agency, which is a waste of time that they could spend on service delivery. Use the information in the register to find out if your providers face this problem. Then contact the other agency s team to work on ways to streamline the contract management activities and share information. You may also want to prepare a joint outcome agreement management plan or a contract management plan for that provider. In that document you can record the ways that the provider and agencies will work together. For example, if you understand what monitoring visits other purchasing agencies are doing, you may find an opportunity to join up and align these visits so they are less disruptive for the provider. Planning or doing an audit or an accreditation Audit and accreditation, using the Social Sector Accreditation standards, are important tools for managing service delivery. They can be used as part of a more formal, objective and detailed review of a provider s performance. An audit or accreditation review may cover quality, service delivery, financial, compliance and a range of other aspects related to the provider s contractual obligations. Purchasing agencies and providers may face significant audit costs (such as adding a significant management overhead for providers). Audit costs may detract from service delivery and unnecessarily waste their resources and budget. This issue is even greater where a provider works with multiple agencies and may be audited or accredited multiple times. The register supports more joined-up audit and accreditation by letting users identify other purchasing agencies that are sourcing services from the selected provider or providers. The aim is to work together on audit and accreditation, including sharing audit findings, so as to avoid the need for a repeat audit of the same information or activity. Before doing an audit or accreditation, search the register to find out if other agencies are working with that provider. Then discuss with the provider and then other agencies whether you can share audit information or accreditation information rather than repeating those processes. Your contract with the provider may already let you share this information. Who can you contact for more information about the register? Your agency administrator will be able to answer most questions about using the register. They are your first port of call for any problems. If the system has a fault, phone or info.nzgp@mbie.govt.nz 6

7 A helpdesk at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment will provide the first level of formal support. They will log and forward any questions they cannot answer to the Systems team within the New Zealand Government Procurement and Property Group. How does the register work? Before you need to use the register, take a tour to become familiar with what the register contains. The next pages of this user guide show you how to use the register. You ll find out how to log on and edit your profile. You ll learn how to find a provider or a contract, and how to export your search results. 7

8 Note: In the register you ll find some text fields are in red font and have an asterisk. These fields are mandatory. You must fill them out. Contract Register Log on Page Below is the register s login screen. Your username is your address. At the top right of you main screen you ll find Logout. Always remember to log out when you exit the register. The login screen also links to the Contract Register Acceptable Use Policy (in PDF). You must read the 3-page policy. You can download or print it if you wish. The policy offers guidance on how to use the register consistently and appropriately. It helps us and you meet all our statutory obligations. The policy has a statement about user accounts, security of information and communication devices, acceptable use, and monitoring of use. Logging in Each time you access the register, you ll need to enter your username, which is your address. Entering your password When you register and become an authorised user, you will receive an which includes the login url and a temporary password. You must change this password when you log in for the first time. You can also change your password on the My Profile screen after you login. Your password must have at least 10 characters. It must include a mix of letters, numbers and symbols Your letters must be a mix of uppercase (eg, A) and lowercase (eg, a). The password is case sensitive. So every time you access the register remember to check your caps lock. The register has a lockout function. This means that the system will lock you out after 5 failed attempts to access the register. Click on Lost Password if you get a warning that you re about to be locked out. This is important as only an MBIE System administrator can unlock an account. 8

9 Once you login you may be prompted with a message from your browser asking if you wish to enable pop-ups. If this occurs enable pop ups for this site. Your browser may refresh when you enable pop-ups, requiring you to login again. This will only happen the first time you login from the PC you are using. Contract Register Home Page The home page has three sections. Contracts lets you view all contracts in the register. My Profile helps you manage your profile in the register. Help Manuals links to this user guide. You ll see four tabs at the top of the screen. These tabs are another way to link to the same topics. The Home tab sits on all topic pages in the register. It will take you back to this screen. This user guide focuses on your profile and the contracts in the register. My Profile The Profile tab lets you change your password, view and print your profile. The profile has your user information. Your agency administrator will have set up your profile for you. This includes full name, title, department, and phone number. 9

10 Contracts The Contracts tab lets you view and search all the contracts and providers in the register. Searches control which records are displayed. We expect that you will use the search function most frequently to search by provider or contract name or service descriptions. The header row of the contracts displayed lists the fields included in this view: You can view details of individual contracts by checking the relevant magnifying glass icon next to the record under column labelled View. You can also sort contracts by any of the column headings e.g. ID, Agency Contract ID, Contract Name, Provider Name, Contract End Date, Status, Agency Name, or Contract Type. Click on the relevant heading. It will turn to green and let you sort contents under it in descending or ascending order. For example, if you sort by Contract Type, you ll see all the contracts listed by contract types in alphabetical order. If you click again it will reverse the order. You can add a second level of sorting by using CTRL and clicking on a second column. 10

11 Searching for specific contract content Above the main screen is a search menu. Use the dropdown menu next to Search to search by contract fields. You can refine your search further by typing in the text that you do or don t want to find. To start your search, click Go. You can clear all searches by clicking Show All. Other search tick boxes are Refine, String, Context and Active Only. Refine narrows already executed search by new criteria. For example, you might search for Open issues, then enter MBIE in the search box, click the Refine button and hit Go to find all the Open issues that contain the word MBIE. String does a database search for phrases or strings of words. Context shows context with search results. This is a useful option, as it shows where the specified phrase occurred so that you can easily see which record is the one you want. 11

12 Active Only refines the search to display only active records. The next menu above the main screen has two options: Export and Search. Searches Saved Searches There are some saved searches to help you quickly find contracts e.g. active contracts expiring within 90 days, active contracts for your agency only or those that are inactive, or all of them. Clicking on Search or the Expand Search Options will either remove or display the ad hoc search tool (discussed below). Active Contracts Expiring within will list all your agency s contracts expiring within 90 days. My Active will list your agency s active contracts. My Contracts will list your agency s contracts. My Inactive will list your agency s inactive contracts. 12

13 Exporting contracts Export takes you to a screen with three tabs: Destination, Data Format, and Options. Fill out the information in each tab to find the data and information you wish to export. Destination provides options for where the exported data and information will be located. You should always use the default option (Local hard drive). Data Format lets you select the data format of the export file. In most cases you will select one of the Excel options. Options lets you decide which contracts to export, whether to include field labels, the output of date/time fields. Export: This may be records you have selected (on the main Contracts screen), records selected from a saved search or all records. Export labels: Use default Yes. Field labels are the column headings in an Excel export, so we recommend that you leave the default option (yes) selected. Include attached filed: Use default No Output of date/time fields: Use default setting: KB Time. Fields: Use a saved view or select the fields that you want. There is a saved view that includes the fields that are included in the contract import file. 13

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15 Quick reference guide for faults or problems Below is a table that sets out some common problems you might have with the register, and how best to resolve them. Fault/Problem My password is not working or I ve forgotten my password I couldn t reset my password using the Lost Password link on the login screen My search function is not displaying the expected results My export function is a Notepad file (i.e. the data isn t in Excel). Resolution Agency User uses Lost Password link on login screen to reset password. your Agency Administrator to reset password or reactivate your account. The name of your Agency Admin is available on Step 1: See Searching for specific contract content for different search options. Make sure you have selected the right search parameters. To clear your search, select Show All. Step 2: Contact your Agency Administrator. Notepad is the default export format. Repeat the Export process and ensure you select Excel as the export format. See Exporting contract data and labels or guidance on the export function. 15