Project and Programme Management Strategy

Harlow Council

Project and Programme Management Strategy

Issue Number (10pt Arial) 20/12/2005

Project and Programme Management Strategy

Contents list
Introduction What is programme and project management? Aims and objectives Training and capacity building Resources Action Plan Project and Programme Governance 3 3 4 6 7 7 7

Issue Number (10pt Arial) 20/12/2005

Introduction
1. Robust project management procedures, frameworks and reporting mechanisms are essential for Harlow Council to deliver effective services to local people. The Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) inspection in 2004 and previous investigations undertaken by the Audit Commission, highlighted significant areas for improvement in the Councils project and programme management approach. 2. This strategy and the supporting framework, protocols and project management guidance have been developed drawing on the learning from these external assessments of Harlows current position and capabilities. 3. This strategy outlines what programme and project management is and why it is important to organisational change and the continued development and delivery of the Councils ambitions. It aims to develop project management capability and approaches, growing that capability systematically.

What is programme and project management?

4. Any organisation that needs to change in any way will typically initiate one or more projects to deliver that change. Harlow Council is no different from any other sector in that respect. 5. Project management is about the successful delivery of a particular planned change, while programme management recognises that a number of projects may need to be initiated and co-ordinated to successfully deliver a set of related changes. 6. Changes which might be managed in the context of a project could include those with an internal focus, such as improvements to the internal IT infrastructure, or those, which are explicitly external, such as the implementation of a call centre or of an e-voting system. 7. Projects serve to define boundaries to the work being done. To put it another way, a project will define a set of inputs, which will deliver a desired set of outputs. Inputs will include a set of requirements, a set of resources, and a budget (whether explicitly identified or not). Outputs will include the desired result. A project can be defined as A unique series of interdependent tasks and activities, planned to achieve a specific outcome, within constraints of time, cost, and resources. 8. Programmes become significant when a budget or set of resources is being used to deliver a number of related results across projects. In that case, dependencies between projects need to be managed, resources might need to be shifted November 2005

between projects within the programme for the optimum result, and therefore programme managers need to have an oversight of the status of all projects in the programme. 9. For Harlow Council a number of factors have come together with the result that there are more projects being run today in the Council than ever before: a. Increasing expectations placed on local government by central government, Members and the public mean that there are more projects on the go at any one time, b. Funds increasingly come to the Council with conditions which need to be met if the budget is to be made fully available - the only way to realistically track this is within a project c. Organisational change is at an all time high - reorganisation and increasing collaboration between authorities mean that extra projects are required in order to merge IT strategies, move offices, and so on d. Technological advances continue to drive the pace of change for many, resulting in further projects e. With shorter term employment contracts, opportunities for outsourcing, etc., every organisational change, which is undertaken, must be seen to deliver benefits. The only realistic way to measure that is to treat the change as a self-contained project 10. Programme and project management is therefore important because it represents so much work, and so much of the budget of the Council. The ability to consistently deliver projects will increasingly become a measure of effectiveness. Not only that, but the ability to publish project-related information while projects are in progress will be a major factor in enjoying continued support for work in progress from Members, senior management and the public. 11. This strategy responds to these challenges and integrates the findings and recommendations of the Audit Commission assessment of project management within the organisation. This review highlighted that the way forward was to produce and approve a programme and governance structure and programme methodology which links to the Councils corporate and service delivery improvement objectives This strategy is a key step in achieving this.

Aims and Objectives

12. As part of the CPA Recovery Plan Phase 2 the Corporate Management Team (CMT) has refocused its work on seven cross-cutting themes that will build and sustain capacity. Project management is a critical aspect of this performance framework and will play a key part in the Councils recovery.

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13. The aims of the strategy are to: To develop good Project Management Practices and capacity that result in the completion of projects on time, within budget and that provide real, effective and efficient solutions. 14. Detailed below are the objectives for the Project and Programme Management Team established to support CMT. This Team will ensure that the Councils approach to project and programme management continues to improve. The CMT Champion is Strategic Director Graham Branchett and Head of Service Lead: Nick Cave. The key objectives for this strategy are a. To ensure that project management techniques are applied to all major initiatives, to agree a corporate framework for project management, and to secure appropriate training for all relevant staff b. The creation of project and programme management documents and controls c. To ensure that the Councils key programmes including the Capital Programme, are developed to reflect the Councils Corporate Plan objectives and priorities d. To ensure that the Councils key programmes are managed effectively to deliver their objectives and performance targets e. To ensure that the Councils organisational capacity for project and programme management continues to evolve. f. Develop the use of PRINCE2 project management methodology g. Spread learning across the Council and develop a corporate training and development programme for project and programme management h. Develop a senior management control and governance framework/structure. i. Improve project communication j. Improve links to risk management k. Develop electronic document and records management links l. Review Standing Order implications m. Increase the understanding of project management approaches for use in smaller scale projects. 15. The outcome of these objectives is to ensure stakeholder confidence in the Councils ability to properly manage its business on behalf of the local community, by delivering its projects on time, at the right price and at the right quality.

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Key outputs from the strategy will be: a. The creation of a corporate project and programme management manual (Completed September 2005). b. The creation of project and programme management documents and controls (Completed September 2005). c. A core of PRINCE2 trained and qualified employees. The target for the number trained is twenty employees to Foundation level and ten to qualified Practitioner level. To date ten employees have passed the PRINCE2 Foundation level and six have qualified as PRINCE2 Practitioners (April 2006). d. The delivery of a corporate training and development programme on the use and awareness of the Councils project and programme management methodology (December 2005).

Training and Capacity Building

16. As part of the recovery process the Council has made significant progress developing skills, knowledge and experience in project management. Project management training has been delivered to a range of staff and robust project management methodologies placed at the heart of tackling the Councils recovery process and driving forward modernisation across services. A total of sixteen staff have now gained PRINCE2 project management Certification. All of the Councils recovery projects are managed using PRINCE2 methodology. 17. The Council recognises that whilst its short term capacity needs have to be filled with support from consultants and interim appointments it must build its own capacity to achieve sustainable performance improvement. To achieve this a layered approach to project and programme management training will be developed that a. Focuses resources onto key personnel b. Clearly identifies role and responsibilities c. At management level looks to develop skills for the project brief and leadership governance of projects d. For Members develops involvement understanding of governance arrangements monitoring and review as well as developing strategic partnering skills e. At third tier level develops Prince 2 super users and skills sets in teams

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Action Plan
An action plan will be developed to accompany the strategy. The action plan will lay out specific actions for improvement for each objective and clearly indicate the officer responsible for ensuring the action is implemented. As well as this resource implications, anticipated out turns and the implementation date for each activity will be identified.

Resources
18. The initial expenditure required for this project is to develop a training programme appropriate to the needs of the organisation. Some of this will be funded by the ODPM capacity building budget and other support brought to the project through existing mainstream budgets. 19. The Councils Policy and Performance service will provide an organisational focus for Project and Programme Management and give day to day support and coordination. 20. Work will be undertaken with the Human Resource department to develop training programmes tailored to the organisations needs. There will be cost implications within these that will be found from within existing budgets. For larger projects the costs of project management will be integrated into the briefing and overall resource implications for that project.

Project and Programme Governance

21. To improve project and programme management capabilities the Councils Policy and Performance service have been allocated the role of developing a project focussed culture and delivering ongoing change. Included within this remit will be bringing forward proposals for a revised governance structure for project and programme management that incorporates the new management structure of the Council and develops Member involvement. This will initially be delivered through the Service Improvement Group taking on the roles of the former Business Review Board and developing this into a strategic Project and Programme monitoring board function reporting to Corporate Team.

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