Case study
Client: NHS Trust
Sector: Health
Benefits Experienced by the Client:
Springboard for Effective Programme Management
- An increase in the number of competent and MSP qualified programme managers, who understand programmes at a practical level and have the skills to deliver effective programmes and support their team members using a streamlined approach.
- Skilled programme team members, who understand programme management and have adopted the streamlined approach to support their work.
- Board members who are better able to support and challenge the programme managers to deliver more effective programmes.
- Programmes that have been kick-started through programme definition workshops, benefiting from the new skills developed in house and the professional expertise of the Maven team as they define the scope and identify the projects needed.
In addition the organisation has also benefited from an increased confidence in their abilities and a sense that real progress is being made across all programme areas, and has improved communication and understanding on a whole range of issues which are impacting a broad cross-section of the organisation.
Strategic Objective:
Effective Programme Management to Support Major Change
This NHS Trust wanted to deliver significant changes, across the whole trust, to improve service provision, support and management (in line with recommendations from the Darzi report).
They recognised that the most effective way of delivering change on this scale would be to commission a series of programmes and projects and they wanted to develop an organisational capability in the skills and competencies needed for effective management and successful delivery of business-critical change and development programmes.
The Solution Provided:
Training, Facilitation and Support
An integrated approach utilised Maven Training’s skills combined with activities organised and maintained by the NHS Trust which continued to support staff throughout the life of the programmes:
Developing staff on multiple levels (from senior managers and business managers to support managers, clinicians and other front-line service delivery staff, and even some stakeholders and partners) ensured that the programme management capacity built within the organisation would function effectively and deliver the desired benefits.
The combination of accredited Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) courses and bespoke essentials and master classes provided a level of programme knowledge and understanding that enables them to tailor the standard approach to best suit the organisation's needs.
The practical workshops brought together staff in their programme teams to work through and define their programmes and the projects required as a team and with expert guidance and support, provided an excellent opportunity for stakeholder engagement.
Training and support was delivered to Programme SROs, programme and project managers, on-site and at nearby conference facilities, which provided the ideal combination of a relaxed training environment and practical in-situ support.
Working together:
Senior Management Commitment and the Right Support
Developing the capability to deliver effective programmes in a short space of time requires buy in at all levels, and the NHS Trust already had the full commitment of their Chief Executive and the Chair of the Clinical Executive Committee. They had already appointed an Executive Director for Commissioning,
to head up the programme management approach and take responsibility for sponsoring many of the programmes in the portfolio.
Maven worked closely with the Executive Director of Commissioning, who took a very active role, making himself available to support the development of the solution and the Deputy Director of HR developed a comprehensive series of training and development activities, and set up the Action Learning Sets to enable continuous learning.
The Delegate Experience
With most of the training delivered in cross-organisational and programme teams, the training sessions began to enhance communication and stimulate key discussions early in the process. The following positive comments were made team members;
“Difficult subject simplified… to enable clearer understanding.”
“Clear & helpful overview enabling discussion with colleagues of MSP framework in specific organisational context.”
“Good activities which generated useful discussion.”
“Useful to attend with colleagues & share ideas, issues, concerns.”
The Maven Project Team
Melanie Franklin has extensive experience in project and programme management and has delivered large change programmes in multinational organisations. She has delivered solutions for a number of NHS trusts and is the author of a series of books on the skills needed to support successful projects and programmes.
David King is an experienced trainer and facilitator in programme and project management, business design and analysis and has experience of delivering change programmes in an NHS trust.
Polly Murphy brought her considerable programme management skills from industry and the public sector to deliver training and facilitate key programme workshops.
Susan Tuttle’s programme and project management skills, developed in dynamic environments in various industries enables her to facilitate workshops for challenging programmes.
The Next Chapter:
Support for Successful Programme Delivery
As well as providing further advice and guidance on MSP adoption, Maven Training have since provided support in the form of;
• Benefits Management workshop
• Clinical Executive Away Day
• Expert facilitation of large conferences
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