Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 26
26
Accepted
NISTA continues project performance data collection, requiring improved standardisation and early warning indicators.
Recommendation
We asked how the IPA’s previous data collection could continue to be used across projects to aid costing and identify effective early warning indicators for project delivery. NISTA told us its intention is to continue to publish updates and collect quarterly data on project performance and acknowledged that there was more work to do in terms of standardisation of the data across projects and Departments. NISTA told us that it had recently published a data standard but this was a minimum viable product, and it needed to look further into project controls to get a better set of indicators. NISTA said it does not have the ability to look at the monthly performance of projects or as projects are evolving.49 Accountability for the delivery of the infrastructure strategy and pipeline
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states NISTA has made progress connecting individual systems and bringing performance data together, with plans to produce project-level insights to better target assurance and intervention.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5b. PAC recommendation: NISTA should make better use of data on the performance of major projects to inform its assurance work. 5.4 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 5.5 NISTA has made significant progress to date in connecting individual systems and has brought several performance data sources together in one place to be better visualised. This is enabling an improved ability to analyse performance data both at a project and overall portfolio level. NISTA intends to continue building on this work and has plans in place to produce project level insights that support better targeting of assurance and intervention activities to where they are most needed and would deliver most benefit. 5.6 NISTA is already exploring ways to best share and present project performance data to support the analysis of documentary evidence. This work will help to inform independent assurance review teams and allow them to utilise more information. NISTA will increasingly use major project performance data to generate portfolio level insights that help identify where system level interventions could be required to tackle more systemic blockers affecting multiple major projects. 5.7 NISTA is working closely with departments and ALBs to bring together data in a systematic, consistent way including through publishing Project Data Standards, implementing a common reporting platform, and upskilling colleagues across government on the use of data and AI skills. It is working with industry and professional bodies to develop and implement these.