Case study
Client: NHS Trust
Sector: Health
Benefits Experienced by the Client:
Effective Project & Programme Delivery
- This NHS Trust’s capacity for effective project and programme management has dramatically increased and is now supporting projects to adopt the NHS World Class Commissioning model and provide new and improved services to around 750,000 people.
- An organisation wide understanding of projects that has enabled staff at all levels to effectively contribute to the wide range of projects needed to deliver services to the standard demanded by the public and the Department of Health.
- A board level knowledge of projects and programmes which enables effective decision making and best use of resources in an environment where value for money is a key criteria.
In addition to the project and programme management skills originally requested, this NHS Trust now has a programme management function which provides the strategic level support needed to deliver and sustain an increasing number of changes through a large number of projects and programmes.
Strategic Objective:
Capacity to Deliver Change and Excellence in a Service Environment
As well as ensuring that the people of the city have access to the health services they need, the NHS Trust are working to transform the way health and care services are commissioned, by embedding World Class Commissioning competencies, optimising the use of resources, and working together with GP practices, pharmacists, optometrists, dentists, hospital trusts, social services, mental health services and community and voluntary organisations to improve the health and quality of life for local people.
This NHS Trust had identified that increasing their ability and capacity to deliver effective projects would help them achieve these objectives.
The Solution Provided:
Project Management in a Supportive Programme Environment
Since both this NHS Trust and Maven Training recognised the need for a supportive programme environment to enable the effective delivery of large numbers of projects, the solution provided was designed to develop capacity in both project and programme management.
A scene setting event was held for all staff, to share with them the changes to be delivered and the new NHS Trust’s Project and Programme Management framework, which would provide the process, organisation structure and tools for support that would enable them to achieve their objectives. It also helped to ‘prepare people for change’.
Staff in project and programme roles then attended a project management or Programme Management Essentials course to establish a good level of knowledge, followed by additional training modules in key areas identified to support them in their particular role.
At the same time four programme management master classes were held, each involving a cross section of executive and non executive board members and senior clinical management which built a firm foundation for programme management. It is worth noting that the effectiveness of this approach was dramatically increased by having a very supportive Chief Executive on board.
Programme definition workshops brought together staff in their programme teams to work through and define their programmes and the projects required as a team, and provided an excellent opportunity for stakeholder engagement.
Working together:
The client’s objective as a project
The chance to work with this NHS Trust came through an open tender for Project and Programme Management training, however during meetings with the client to understand their organisational objectives and requirements, both parities quickly established a need for an organisation structure for effective project and programme support.
The Maven team recommended a light touch approach based on the Managing Successful Programmes (MSPTM) methodology to provide effective strategic level support for project delivery.
In addition to the programme definition workshops, Maven Training were able to facilitate additional bespoke workshops as the need was identified, such as workshops to identify and define additional programmes.
The Delegate/Client Experience
“Very useful,… particularly as it is tailored to the NHS environment.”
“For once I enjoyed the role play scenarios and got a lot out of them all.”
“Content was relevant to my role.”
The Maven Project Team
Melanie Franklin has extensive experience in the areas of project, programme and change management and experience delivering solutions in a number of NHS trusts. She is also the author of a series of books on the skills needed to support successful projects and programmes.
Graham Devine brings 30 years experience in project and programme management including training in the public sector and NHS trusts.
Polly Murphy & Louise Blyth brought their considerable programme management skills from industry and the public sector to deliver training and facilitate key programme workshops.
The Next Chapter: Strategic Support and Sustainability
Having established the need for a programme management structure during the early discussions, Maven Training were able to support this NHS Trust as they identified the organisation changes required to support such a high degree of project and programme management work - helping them develop an assessment centre for potential programme managers, and build the business case for a programme management office.
Maven Training were also able to support this NHS Trust by developing a course and sourcing a trainer for a final Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) programme module to enable a number of staff to complete their ILM qualification.
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