> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://admin-services.docs.intersectmbo.org/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://admin-services.docs.intersectmbo.org/governance/policies-and-guidance/dispute-and-escalation-policy.md). # Dispute & Escalation Policy 1. **Policy Title:** Dispute and Escalation Policy
2. **Version:** 1.0
3. **Effective Date:** 1st June 2026
4. **Review Date**: Annually, next applicable 1st June 2027
5. **Policy Owner:** Delivery Assurance Lead
6. **Policy Sponsor:** Head of Operations *Updated on 26th May 2026*
7. **Purpose:** To establish a formal framework for addressing persistent vendor underperformance, non-responsiveness, or failure to meet contractual standards. This policy ensures that the Intersect Executive Team has oversight of high-risk projects and provides clear pathways, such as Milestone Spot-checks, to protect project integrity and treasury funds. 8. **Scope:** This policy applies to all vendors currently under contract with Intersect. It is triggered when standard administrative remediation (e.g., warnings from the Delivery Assurance team) fails to resolve milestone delivery or quality issues. 9. **Principles:** * Accountability: Vendors are held strictly to their contract including the acceptance criteria and milestone deliverables. * Integrity: Treasury funds are only disbursed for work that meets high-quality standards. * Objectivity: Decisions to pause or escalate are backed by evidence, i.e. independent third-party reviews.
10. **Definitions:** * DA Team: Delivery Assurance Team. * MAF: Milestone Acceptance Form. * Milestone Spot-check Review: A review conducted by an external third-party company to verify work quality. * Pause: A technical pause of payment via the smart contract dashboard.
11. **Policy Statements:** * Quality Standard: All submissions must meet the Milestone Review Checklist and contractual acceptance criteria. * Mandatory Documentation: Any decision to pause or reject a milestone must be recorded as metadata on the Smart Contract Dashboard. * Financial Safeguard: The decision to pause a payment must be made in the two weeks before the payment is due to prevent accidental automated disbursement. * Escalation Threshold: Formal escalation via the Vendor Escalation Form is required if a vendor fails to remediate issues within agreed timelines or if the DA team recommends contract termination.
12\. **Roles and Responsibilities:** * DA Team: Responsible for monitoring MAF submissions, collating evidence of delays, notifying vendors of review findings, and initiating the "Pause" or "Escalation" process. * Intersect Admin (2 of 3): Required for actioning a Pause on-chain. * Intersect SLT (1 of 2): Required for final signature/authorization to Pause a Milestone or approve an Escalation recommendation. * External Reviewer: Responsible for conducting Milestone Spot-checks and providing assurance levels (Reasonable, Moderate, or Limited).
13. **Procedures (or Referenced Procedures):** * Notification: The DA team identifies a delivery issue and notifies the vendor via Slack or email, requesting supporting evidence, clarification, or required amendments. * Pause Action: If the milestone remains below the required standard beyond the 5-day remediation window, the DA team may initiate a “Pause” action on the dashboard, with support from the Executive Team. * Repeated Delivery Issues: The DA team identifies a pattern of repeated delivery concerns, including but not limited to: a. Three or more Pause actions b. Vendor unresponsiveness across two or more milestones c. Repeated failure (two or more instances) to meet Milestone Acceptance Form standards. * Formal Escalation: The DA team completes a Vendor Escalation Form outlining the chronology of events, supporting evidence, and a recommended course of action for Executive Team review (e.g. warning, termination, or spot-check review). * Executive Decision: The Executive Team reviews the escalation and records its decision, rationale, and any associated commentary. * Review Trigger (if applicable): Where a spot-check review is deemed necessary, a Spot-check Review Request Form is issued to an independent external reviewer. * Resolution: Based on the Executive Team’s decision or the reviewer’s findings, the milestone may be Paused, Resumed, Modified, or the contract may be further escalated to the board. * Termination: The Board has final decision-making authority on any contract Termination actions, including any required disbursal of remaining funds back to the Treasury.
14. **Monitoring and Compliance:** * Adherence to this policy is monitored through the Smart Contract Dashboard metadata logs. Failure by the DA team to document rationale for pauses or by vendors to respond to escalations will be flagged in reviews.
15. **Review and Amendment:** * This policy will be reviewed annually by the Policy Owner. Amendments require approval from the Policy Sponsor to ensure alignment with smart contract governance. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://admin-services.docs.intersectmbo.org/governance/policies-and-guidance/dispute-and-escalation-policy.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.