Contracting Best Practices: Innovations Clause
Including an "Innovations" clause in a contract can allow an agency flexibility to address issues and change service terms to take advantage of innovation without having to renegotiate the entire agreement.
Innovations could include additional materials for recovery (e.g., rigid plastics, textiles, cartons); collection changes such as wet/dry routing; or new technology, such as anaerobic digestion for food scraps. If the contractor cannot or does not want to provide new services, consider allowing third parties to perform the service.
Case studies:
Advantages
- Flexibility: An innovations clause allows contracts to adapt with market changes and new innovations.
Disadvantages
- Local government staff workload: An innovations clause would involve additional contractual uncertainty and a review and approval process.