Contract Management Systems

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 168: Contract Management Systems will be of interest to administrators, contract officers, and others interested in using consulting firms to manage a transportation agency's work activities -- ranging from a single project to a complete spectrum of work. Information is provided on various aspects of contract management systems, including examples of use of each aspect in several agencies. An increasing workload coupled with reduced staff size have caused state highway agencies to turn to private enterprise to accomplish work that has traditionally been done in-house. This report of the Transportation Research Board describes various aspects of the use of consultants to manage a highway agency's work and gives specific examples of use of each aspect in several agencies.