Defining roles and responsibilities

The lead agency is responsible for:

Project delivery

• Manage the relationship with the landlord or developer.
• Develop legal agreements specifically for the property. This includes:
  • development agreements
  • the lease
  • Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
  • the co-location agreement.
• Hold the head lease with the developer.
• Establish and manage governance structures in agreement with participating agencies.
• Manage project workstreams (ICT, health and safety, security, finance, people and change).
• Manage and coordinate security assessments for the property, including leading security provision for public areas and collaborative spaces.
• Comprehensive threat assessment of location and building.
• Coordinate overarching move logistics – for example dates, access for participating agencies, and day one support activities as agreed with partner agencies.
• Coordinate the opening and blessing.
• Where the project involves a new build or refurbishment, hold the head lease with the developer and deliver Development Agreement (DA) milestones.
• Manage the relationship with the Project Consultancy Team and Main Contractor, providing design direction and formal approvals at major milestones.
• Manage the construction process.
• Work with partner agency representatives to ensure functional requirements can be met.
• Manage the procurement processes for the goods and services provided.

Formalising the co-location

Leading people and change

• Develop a change management plan specifically for the property.
• Adapt a change plan and collateral to suit project needs.
• Develop a communication plan and collateral that can be used by each agency, including user guides.
• Communicate with local cluster representatives.
• Arrange combined induction training for systems and security operations.
• Establish staff engagement structures in agreement with participating agencies.
• Facilitate communication platforms for sharing project information with local users (co-location user meetings and others as required).

Building operations

• Manage the facilities.
• Chair and administer the Operational Group to support a sustainable co-location.
• Lead facilities management scope, plan and resources for ongoing building management, with supporting documentation.
• Manage building management resources like receptionist and facilities manager.
• Take on the role of lead person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) for the physical environment.
• Establish new agency on-boarding procedures.
• Establish and manage governance structures for the operation of the building.
• Implement and manage financial processes like invoicing.
• Set up regular reporting structures to the participating agencies on operational spend.
• Manage shared building resources and services provided as part of the co-location agreement.
• Cooperate with health and safety working groups for the building.
• Maintain a safe and secure physical environment for all occupants.
• Define security escalation response requirements for heightened security threat levels.
• Establish and maintain:
  • a site emergency plan
  • incident management plans
  • building user guides
  • any other relevant documentation to support building management.
• Establish and manage communication channels for building and technology infrastructure notifications.

Project delivery

• Engage in approval processes as agreed with lead agency for key project, financial and design decisions.
• Participate in the project’s operational group.
• Participate in project workstreams (ICT, health and safety, security, finance, people and change).
• Provide input into procurement process for goods and services provided (as agreed by the co-location).
• Manage relationships with internal stakeholders like PSA delegates, local staff, non-local senior management and HR.
• Manage internal parallel change projects - for example, changes in ICT, internal processes, and team and people resource changes.
• Manage internal communication channels for the project.
• Ensure local functional requirements are communicated to the lead agency, including providing direct contact with appropriate local stakeholders and agency specialists, for example in ICT or security.
• Manage security requirements for public areas and collaborative spaces.
• Manage agency-specific communications with external stakeholders and vendors, like vendor contract changes or change of address.
• Coordinate with lead agency on internal move and relocation processes:
  • declutter days
  • move related communications
  • migration plans
  • contracting a moving company.
• Review and feedback on design prior to major milestones.
• Any other deliverables agreed by the Operational Group.

Building operations

• Participate in governance structures.
• Work cooperatively and collaboratively with the lead PCBU.
• Actively participate in health and safety working groups for the building.
• Provide input into the relevant operational documentation of the building.

• Some presence on site by the lead agency is required.
• An agency with more people onsite is likely to ensure greater stability in the lead agency for the tenancy.

Consider agencies that:

• align property strategies with business strategies
• have robust property project discipline
• have strong facilities management processes, including business continuity planning, and
• have clear governance structures in place to manage the issues and risks associated with delivering and managing facilities.

Consider agencies that have:

• good ICT resource
• sufficient ICT infrastructure capability, and
• robust ICT project discipline.

Consider agencies that have:

• established procurement processes and practices, and
• sufficient internal resources to help you run procurement processes.

Consider agencies that have:

• security processes and plans for assessing, monitoring and responding to threats and risks
• clear governance structures for reviewing protective security
• security practices for assessing all staff and contractors' suitability for employment.

The agency with the most complex security needs may be best placed to lead the co-location, particularly given the requirements this will place on management of the site.