These documents can be used alone or in combination. The selection of documents and their relationship to each other depends on the complexity of the service relationship, as shown in the following examples. Although the principles and elements contained in a service agreement between two government departments apply equally to service agreements with external non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or private sector bodies, these types of agreements are generally governed by a legal contract, a grant or contribution contract, or by an invoice or sales contract. Such contracts and agreements do not fall within the scope of this Directive. In some cases, in particular when it comes to new services, the customer and/or service provider may not have the necessary information to fully define all aspects of its service relationship. Service contracts may continue to be concluded if further analysis or pilot project is required. However, in order to protect both parties, a process to complete the analysis or pilot project should be jointly formulated and articulated in the services agreement. The process should include appropriate off ramps if the analysis or pilot indicates that a viable win-win relationship is not feasible. It is preferable that an unviable relationship is abandoned from the outset before committing significant investments or contractual obligations. Section 4 discusses the types of service agreements and the situations in which they are best used.
The speed and ease of developing a service contract depends on many factors. Service agreements can be set up quickly and easily if the service relationship is relatively simple and well understood and few problems can be resolved. Preparation of more complex service agreements (e.g. B in order to maximize the use of resources, respond to government-wide planning activities, or support horizontal initiatives between two or more departments) generally requires additional time and effort. This section describes the dispute resolution procedure and procedures to be applied to each service mentioned in the SLA. The process used to define a problem or incident should be identified. The escalation process should also be identified, as should all responsible collaborators. . . .
