Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
Department actively improving project capability, capacity, and resources across major programmes.
Recommendation
The Department recognised the need to improve project capability across the whole organisation, and it has established a new director general role for project delivery. It told us it is looking at its capability, capacity and resource models across its portfolio of major projects and programmes. It told us that it has brought in over 100 programme management specialists in the past 12 months and a delivery partner to bring in specialists at short notice.17 Providing clarity to stakeholders
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, detailing various actions taken to improve project and programme management, stakeholder engagement, and governance across the department based on IPA reviews.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
1.3 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 1.4 Since March 2020, the IPA has undertaken 27 reviews of the department’s programmes that form part of the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP), which has resulted in 225 recommendations. The most common themes have been programme/project management, stakeholder engagement/communications and governance. 1.5 The programme/project management theme includes recommendations to improve critical path, resource planning, programme controls and integrated programme planning. To address these, the department has established an initiation service to transition policy into project delivery integrating IPA start up tools, greater resource and capability planning and maximising the use of digital tools/analysis to embed standards and ensure consistency. 1.6 Stakeholder engagement/communication theme recommendations focus on improving stakeholder identification, engagement strategies/activities with customers and feedback loops. The department is supporting individual programmes to develop stakeholder analysis and engagement plans, encouraging the development of management strategies and simplifying existing tools for identifying, analysing and proactively managing stakeholders. 1.7 Governance theme recommendations include improving the effectiveness of programme governance and roles and input from stakeholders and subject matter experts. The department has reviewed standard programme board terms of reference/structures and programme board membership to ensure they continue to align to the functional standard, government best practice and to assess board effectiveness and maturity. Portfolio Directorate are looking at opportunities to strengthen governance following the appointment of the Director General for Portfolio Delivery and are considering options to provide improved oversight of the delivery of the Defra Portfolio. 1.8 In addition, the department is creating an easily accessed and searchable repository of useful learning for programmes to access and to help improve how the department manages programmes in the future.