Public and private clients across Africa commission roads, water systems, buildings and energy plants under FIDIC conditions, often with donor or lender funding that insists on correct contract administration. The FIDIC forms allocate risk carefully, and they reward parties who follow procedure precisely. Missing a notice period or failing to record an instruction can turn a valid entitlement into a lost claim.

Best Practices in Contract Management and Administration (FIDIC) follows a contract through its life. Participants start with the architecture of the standard forms and the contract documents, then address programme and time, cost and variations, payment and certification, quality and completion, and finally claims and disputes. Throughout, they link clause requirements to the practical systems a site team needs: registers, templates, meeting minutes, early warning procedures and decision logs.

The programme is highly applied. Participants use extracts of contract clauses, sample correspondence and project data to draft notices, assess a delay claim and prepare an interim payment certificate. They finish with a contract administration plan that can be introduced on a live project.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the structure and risk allocation of the main FIDIC forms.
• Explain the duties of the Employer, Engineer and Contractor under the contract.
• Prepare and respond to notices within the time limits in the conditions.
• Evaluate variations and extension of time requests using programme evidence.
• Assemble interim payment certificates, including retention and adjustments.
• Prepare and assess claims for time and money with supporting records.
• Use dispute avoidance tools, adjudication and settlement routes effectively.

The course is designed for people who prepare, administer or review works contracts, including:

• Contract managers and contract administrators
• Project managers and resident engineers
• Quantity surveyors and cost engineers
• Procurement and legal officers in public works agencies
• Contractors' commercial and claims managers
• Supervising consultants and engineers' representatives
• Development partner project staff overseeing infrastructure loans
• Internal auditors reviewing capital projects

Participants leave the course with:

• A notice and time-limit tracker built from the clauses they use most.
• Draft templates for instructions, variation orders and claim notices.
• A method for testing delay claims against the programme.
• A payment certificate workbook with retention and adjustment lines.
• A records checklist that supports claim entitlement.
• A contract administration plan for a current or planned project.

The programme treats contract clauses as working tools. It is delivered through:

• Clause-by-clause walkthroughs linked to site scenarios
• Sample project files with correspondence, programmes and valuations
• Drafting workshops for notices, instructions and claims
• Role-play negotiations between Employer, Engineer and Contractor teams
• Peer feedback on the final contract administration plan

Vision Reach Global Consultancy awards a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion to delegates who attend the programme and complete the drafting and case exercises. This certificate recognises completed training and is not a FIDIC qualification.