Opinion The Mrc S New Framework Agreements Are A Timely Step Towards Good Value And Consistency, Writes Adrian Gainer

摘要

The government's recent announcement of a rise in health research funding to ￡1.7 billion per year by 2010-11 (AJ online 09.04.09) is welcome news given the current economic climate. The Medical Research Council (MRC), which is to receive almost ￡700 million of this funding, is therefore right to introduce a framework of architects that will work on its vast range of projects over the next four years.rnThe MRC has a responsibility to ensure that projects are successfully delivered and meet the government's requirements. A framework agreement is a crucial method of ensuring consistency, efficiency in time and reductions in cost. Of equal importance, frameworks are built to ensure the continuous improvement in quality from project to project. Appointment to the framework wasrnthrough a rigorous OJEU-compliant selection process that allowed the MRC to 'hand pick' practices that meet the requirements of a wide variety of projects.rnA number of factors are attributable to achieving this. Cost and project outcomes are a lot more predictable when working with selected practices on frameworks, leading to ongoing savings. Also, because each partner on the framework is assigned a project based on appropriate skill sets, the need for a bidding process on each project is erased,rnthus reducing the waste of resources.rnThere is the added advantage of sharing skills and knowledge across framework partners - particularly useful in lab projects. Doing this also avoids many pitfalls and offers a range of expertise to the MRC. Nightingale Associates, for example, has particular expertise in designing laboratories that allow flexibility and adaptability, and also offer a specialist laboratory planning service.