Update on the Implementation of the Refreshed Project Management Framework
North Lanarkshire Council · 16 February 2023
Back to Audit and Scrutiny Panel — 16 February 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Audit and Scrutiny Panel Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref KH/SL Date 16/02/23 Update on the implementation of the refreshed Project Management Framework From Katrina Hassell, Chief Officer (Business and Digital) E-mail HassellK@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07903 096 121 Executive Summary Following the strategic frameworks annual position statement report to the Audit and Scrutiny Panel, Members will be aware of the work undertaken in 2022 to review and refresh the council’s corporate project management arrangements. This review culminated in the launch of the refreshed Project Management Framework on 16th December 2022. The review of this framework followed recommendations arising from Internal Audit reports - on the governance of capital projects and managing strategic change - which both reported a reasonable assurance (green-amber) audit opinion, but considered further action was required and/or there was scope for improvement in five specific areas. The recommendations from these audits were assessed with a residual risk rating of medium. The review and refresh exercise was also considered necessary in light of the changes in the council’s operating environment since the implementation of the Model in 2018; changes which include the impact of the pandemic and the economic situation as well as ongoing financial pressures. These changes have led to a rapid evolution of programmes and projects across the council, as well as increasing complexities in the delivery of many of these, and a greater need to make certain of the range of interconnections and interdependencies across an increasing number of related areas of work. This resulted in a growing need for a flexible framework that facilitates good governance and good project management in the set up and delivery of a wider range of projects at pace and scale. This was considered essential to ensure future projects are well-directed, delivered to time, cost, and quality targets, and provide the expected benefits and improved local outcomes if they are to successfully deliver on the vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. In line with the Internal Audit: Follow up of actions previously agreed by management in response to audit recommendations report to the Panel in November 2022 and the subsequent request by the Panel, this report focusses on two recommendations arising from the governance of capital projects and managing strategic change audits which were considered as “not yet complete”. In doing so it specifically provides information on reporting to all stakeholders on key projects and the arrangements for monitoring compliance with the project management framework through a review programme.
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1. Background 1.1 Since the Project Management Model was launched in 2018, it has been the subject of various areas of work for Internal Audit, with the most recent audits - in terms of the governance of capital projects (December 2019) and managing strategic change (June 2021) - resulting in duplicated recommendations and the duration between audits being impacted on by the pandemic. 1.2 Notwithstanding this, work commenced in April 2020 to address the recommendations identified for the governance of capital projects. However, the subsequent impact of the pandemic and implementation of council and service Recovery Plans (whereby the Project Management Model was assessed and allocated a recovery timescale of March 2021) meant the intended enhancements became impracticable and unable to be resourced, and therefore did not progress as planned at that time. 1.3 While responding to and recovering from the pandemic in 2021, work resumed on all the strategic frameworks (including the Project Management Model) and in June 2021 the Corporate Management Team agreed the need to review the Model to ensure it remained fit for purpose given the scale of past (and future unknown) challenges. It was also considered important that moving forward the Model was flexible enough to be able to deal with potential uncertainties, and was effective in managing / delivering projects and co-ordinating teams through a new hybrid way of working. Of particular importance was the need to ensure it was operating effectively in practice in order to support the management, governance, and delivery of the wide range of council projects that required to be delivered to support The Plan for North Lanarkshire. 1.4 The review and refresh exercise was also considered necessary in light of the changes Recommendations It is recommended that the Audit and Scrutiny Panel: (1) Are aware that information in respect of reporting to all stakeholders on key projects and the arrangements for monitoring compliance with the project management framework through a review programme are contained within the refreshed Project Management Framework (2022), as per the extracts in Appendices 2 and 3 of this report, (2) Acknowledge the work underway to establish the quality assurance process and review programme for the Project Management Framework for implementation in 2023/24, (3) Recognise the commitment to ensuring that the programme of activity - to roll out the refreshed Project Management Framework and all its component parts - is implemented to its full and final conclusion, with ongoing monitoring and strategic oversight in place thereafter, (4) Are aware of the future Elected Member oversight role in terms of the quality assurance process and review programme for the Project Management Framework, and (5) Otherwise note the contents of this report. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements
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in the council’s operating environment since the implementation of the Model in 2018; changes which include the pandemic and the economic situation (which has impacted on rising contract costs, availability of suppliers and service providers, increasing costs and availability of supply chain materials, and escalating energy prices), as well as the ongoing financial pressures. 1.5 These changes have led to a rapid evolution of programmes and projects across the council, as well as increasing complexities in the delivery of many of these, and a greater need to make certain of the range of interconnections and interdependencies across an increasing number of related areas of work. With the pandemic also came need for strategic project management which crossed more service and local authority boundaries and was required to be developed and implemented at a larger-scale and faster pace than ever before. 1.6 This has resulted in a growing need for a flexible framework that facilitates good governance and good project management in the set up and delivery of a wider range of projects at pace and scale. This was considered essential to ensure future projects are well-directed, delivered to time, cost, and quality targets, and provide the expected benefits and improved local outcomes if they are to successfully deliver on the vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. 1.7 A Review Group was established to review and update the Model. This group benefitted from the expertise of a wide range of officers from across the council with practical on the ground experience of project management in both construction and non-construction projects. The group participated in a review and self-evaluation exercise which comprised three parts - an initial Poll assessing the approach, its deployment, and the assessment and review processes, an assessment against the Audit Scotland model of good project management practice, and a fact-finding questionnaire about the Review Group’s knowledge and experience of the Project Management Model (2018), as well as their usage of the documentation that made up the Model and their views on its usefulness. 1.8 Following work to collate and analyse the information collected through the review and self-evaluation, five themes on areas for improvement consistently emerged. These subsequently informed the development draft which was finalised for May 2022 and the final consultative draft which was completed for September 2022. 1.9 As reported to the Audit and Scrutiny Panel in November 2022 (in the strategic frameworks annual position statement report), the consultative draft of the refreshed Project Management Framework (2022) was approved by the Corporate Management Team on 27th September 2022. 1.10 The consultation exercise with the council’s Operational Management Team and Organisational Design Authority group - to ensure appropriate feedback from a wider more operationally focussed audience - subsequently concluded in October 2022. 1.11 An engagement and communication programme was then undertaken across Services during October and November 2022 in order to raise awareness of the refreshed Project Management Framework, highlight the key differences and mandatory aspects therein, and ensure appropriate consistency of approach in terms of implementation. More importantly, this also aimed to help those affected by the change to transition seamlessly to the refreshed Framework and use it - not as a tick box exercise - but to add value and effective support to the everyday tasks involved in developing, managing, and delivering projects.
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1.12 As also noted in the report to the Audit and Scrutiny Panel in November 2022, it was recognised that the refreshed Project Management Framework contains a significant volume of information that relevant staff will require to become familiar with and apply. As such, the supporting training and learning and development programme is considered important in terms of the rollout and implementation process. A similar rollout to that which occurred in 2018 is currently under development for implementation in 2023. 1.13 Following the successful conclusion of the pilot for the new face to face training programme (which was trialled on 9th December 2022), the refreshed Project Management Framework (2022) - and all its supporting documentation - was shared across the council via a NLC Announcement on 16th December 2022. 1.14 As noted in the Internal Audit: Follow up of actions previously agreed by management in response to audit recommendations report to the Panel in November 2022 two recommendations arising from the governance of capital projects and managing strategic change audits were considered as “not yet complete”. This report herewith therefore focusses on the recommendations made within the governance of capital projects audit with regard to reporting to all stakeholders on key projects and the managing strategic change audit with regard to the arrangements for monitoring compliance with the project management framework through a review programme, and provides an updated position on these two recommendations as at the time of writing (January 2023). 1.15 In considering the updated position presented on these recommendations it is worth noting that the implementation of the refreshed Project Management Framework (2022) is a live piece of work (as evidenced by the context presented in paragraphs 1.1 to 1.13 above and the timeline in Appendix 1). As such, a programme of activity is currently underway to ensure that the refreshed Project Management Framework (and all its component parts) is implemented to its full and final conclusion, with ongoing monitoring and strategic oversight in place thereafter. 2. Project Management Framework 2.1 The refreshed Project Management Framework (2022) comprises a comprehensive section on Governance which covers the matters raised by both the governance of capital projects and managing strategic change audits. An extract of this section is attached as Appendix 2, and specific details in this respect are highlighted in paragraphs 2.2 to 2.15 below. Managing strategic change Management should progress the previously identified action of establishing a reporting mechanism which better facilitates regular and ongoing oversight by key stakeholders of the progress of key projects against plan, including management of key risks, progress against timelines, cost against budget, achievement or otherwise of key milestones and expected outcomes or benefits realisation. We suggest that this could include introducing a standard reporting template and adopting a traffic light system to report progress against key criteria, project milestones and overall deliverability against expected time, cost and any other intended outcomes. Internal Audit recommendation, June 2021 2.2 The Governance extract in Appendix 2 contains guidance on reporting to all stakeholders. This is considered essential, as to support an effective project governance model there needs to be regular and consistent reporting to all stakeholders (including the Corporate Management Team, the council’s Committees, and all relevant Boards (or equivalent)). It is also considered essential that this facilitates oversight of the relevant projects and enables scrutiny that is ongoing and
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effective. 2.3 The guidance also includes an illustration for use of a RAG status. This is based on assessment criteria for three of the key dimensions within which the project requires to be delivered (i.e. cost, time, and quality) and is recommended for use in reports which update on the progress of specific programmes or projects. 2.4 Reference is made to the role of the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) / Project Manager in ensuring that tolerance levels are agreed at the outset of each project by the relevant governing Board (or equivalent). This includes risk impact parameters and risk tolerances. 2.5 In addition, a list of best practice is provided which highlights the information which progress reports to all stakeholders (including the Corporate Management Team, the council’s Committees, and the relevant Boards (or equivalent)) - in line with the tolerance levels and impact parameters established at the outset - should include. This list is also set out below: • The date period the report is referring to, which is important for version control purposes. • A summary of the status of the project - this may include a percentage identifying the status of projects completed, and a RAG status. • Progress made within the latest date period - including details of the milestones and performance achieved and the progress made in terms of delivering the actions in project plan, inlcuding any recommendations for areas requiring improvement. • Requests for change - details on any significant changes to the project that affect the scope and could prevent the project from progressing. • Lessons learned - details of any lessons learned within the identified time-period that will improve future delivery of the project. • Information on key risks and issues in line with the escalation process; this should provide details on any known risks and issues within the time period of the report and set out what remedial action has been taken and if anything requires to be escalated. • Progress in terms of realising the expected benefits and/or achieving the intended outcomes originally set out in the Project Business Case. 2.6 In terms of the responsibilities for ensuring reporting to all stakeholders takes place, this is clearly defined as a mandatory task for the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) / Project Manager in stage four of the project life cycle. This task is evidence in the extract of stage four (i.e. controlling - ongoing monitoring, management, oversight, and assurance) of the fundamentals of good project management section which is attached in Appendix 3. Governance of capital projects Management should review the project management model review programme, particularly in relation to expanding the sample of projects being reviewed to incorporate some capital and non-capital projects that services have not received advance notification; and reviewing and updating the checklist to include consideration of the adequacy and effectiveness of the completed control document templates, determination of whether established processes have been documented and confirmation that key stakeholders have been adequately updated on the progress of the project, in line with the suggested improvements. Internal Audit recommendation, December 2019 2.7 This audit recommendation is framed within the context of the 2018 Project Management Model and therefore some of its terminology does not align to the
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refreshed Project Management Framework for 2022. Nevertheless, the concept of establishing a review programme to ensure compliance with corporate project management arrangements has been maintained in the refreshed Project Management Framework for 2022 and was set out in the Framework when the consultative draft was approved by the Corporate Management Team in September 2022. 2.8 The governance extract in Appendix 2 contains the respective information and guidance on a quality assurance review programme. It is considered recommended good practice to ensure that quality assurance activities are in place to establish a systematic process of reviewing the documentation and methods adopted by a project and verifying that they are meeting the intended quality standards. The information and guidance in Appendix 2 also states that as one of the five dimensions in which the project requires to be delivered (i.e. scope, quality, time, cost/resources, and risk), quality assurance is a critical success factor in project delivery - the higher the quality level, the more likely a project will meet its aims and realise the benefits and/or improved outcomes it set out to achieve. 2.9 Furthermore, the information and guidance on the quality assurance review programme extract in Appendix 2 emphasises the benefits of such a process in helping to identify potential risks arising from the way a project is being managed and/or governed. In addition, it highlights that such a process can increase the confidence of stakeholders by providing the assurances that there is a serious commitment to producing a high- quality deliverable, that project plans are well-designed and well-executed, and that good project management and good governance arrangements are in place to ensure investment is well-directed, delivered to time, cost, and quality targets, and provides the expected benefits and improved outcomes locally. 2.10 The rolling quality assurance review programme which supports the Project Management Framework aims to provide the relevant assurances that projects are performing in line with organisational requirements and project decisions, and will (where applicable) produce a formal output to serve as the basis for implementing corrective actions. The quality assurance review programme, and the timings of each review to be undertaken therein, is informed by the Project Registers which each Chief Officer is required to maintain. 2.11 As reported to the Audit and Scrutiny Panel in November 2022 (through the strategic frameworks annual position statement report), each Chief Officer is required to maintain a Project Register for their projects that use the Project Management Framework. For strategic governance and oversight purposes, Chief Officers must submit a copy of their Project Registers twice a year - as at the end of September and as at the end of March. The latter date corresponds to the submission of the annual Chief Officer Assurance Certificate and Checklist which aims to provide evidence in respect of the council’s governance arrangements. 2.12 Project Registers as at the end of September 2022 were received from all Chief Officers by November 2022. These Registers have produced a substantial volume of information in terms of programmes, projects, and contracts being delivered across the council and, as such, work is currently underway to review and classify this with a view to establishing a composite Register and a strategic portfolio management approach for the council. This work (which is also taking into consideration a review of Project Boards and their associated governance arrangements, as set out in the Strategic Self- Evaluation Framework Review Programme) is scheduled to be reported the Corporate Management Team in February 2023 for senior management oversight. 2.13 Once this approach has been established, the quality assurance review programme
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can be finalised and rolled out for implementation in 2023/24. Aligned to the five stages in the fundamentals of good project management, the type of quality assurance reviews to be undertaken will be conducted in line with the implementation of the mandatory tasks and advanced recommended practice, and with due consideration of the type, size, and complexity of a project, what the project aims to achieve, the project’s deliverables, and the requirements of any related industry standards. 2.14 As noted in the extract in Appendix 2, good practice recommends that a council's audit and scrutiny committee have an important role to play in providing assurances about the delivery of major programmes and projects. The quality assurance process that supports the refreshed Project Management Framework will therefore form part of the work programme for the scrutiny function of the council’s Audit and Scrutiny Panel and be subject to high level reporting to the Panel to ensure an independent strategic oversight and assurance process. 2.15 As noted in the accompanying report on the agenda today for the annual scrutiny programme of the Audit and Scrutiny Panel, Elected Member oversight in terms of the quality assurance process and review programme for the Project Management Framework is scheduled for cycle 4 of 2023. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measure of success include ensuring that good project management and governance practices are in operation across the council so that projects are managed efficiently and effectively and delivered to cost, time, and quality, and managers are able to respond effectively if problems arise. 3.2 Securing delivery of the programmes and projects in the council’s portfolio in line with good project management and good governance practices will better enable the council to effectively pursue the long-term ambition set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire to realise inclusive growth and prosperity for all and ensure a fairer distribution of wealth across all local communities, while ensuring this is underpinned with control and the management of risk. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 - Timeline of the evolution of project management in the council, 2018 to 2023. Appendix 2 - Extract of the Governance section from the Project Management Framework (2022). Appendix 3 - Extract of the Fundamentals of good project management section from the Project Management Framework (2022) regarding ongoing reporting to all stakeholders. Katrina Hassell Chief Officer (Business and Digital)
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The consideration of these impacts have been incorporated into the relevant stages in the refreshed Project Management Framework document itself. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The consideration of the environmental / carbon impact has been incorporated into the relevant stages in the refreshed Project Management Framework document itself. 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Work to refresh the Project Management Framework and enhance the council’s arrangements in this respect further supports the management and mitigation of risk across the wide range of programmes and projects, large-scale transformational activities, and the capital investment programme required to support delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. It also contribute towards the mitigation of the risks on the Corporate Risk Register for Governance, Leadership, and Decision Making and Managing Strategic Change. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services.
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Appendix 1: Timeline of the evolution of project management in the council (2018 - 2023)
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Appendix 2: Extract from the Governance section from the Project Management Framework (2022) Note, as the following extract is a straight lift from the Project Management Framework (2022) document, it maintains the same page numbering and references to diagrams. These page numbers / references are therefore not relatable to this covering report. The links in the Project Management Framework (2022) document to Connect have been removed for the purposes of this extract, as these have since been updated to reflect the move to the InsideNL platform. Strategic Governance Framework Good governance enables the council to effectively pursue the ambition set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire within appropriate controls and the management of risk. It is also central to ensuring effective scrutiny and delivery of statutory Best Value obligations. This means ensuring resources are directed in line with agreed policies, priorities, and project management procedures, and there is sound, inclusive, and transparent decision making and clear accountability for the use of those resources in achieving improved outcomes for service users and communities. Reflecting the principles of good governance (as defined in the national Delivering Good Governance in Local Government: Framework), the council’s local code of governance is set out in the Strategic Governance Framework. This brings the principles of good governance together with legislative requirements and management processes by which the council is directed and controlled and through which it is accountable to, engages with, and leads the local community. In practice, governance comprises the combination of structures, strategies, policies, plans, frameworks, systems, processes, rules, codes, procedures, cultures, and values that are used to direct, control, and manage the council’s operations and activities. These define roles and responsibilities and accountabilities and establish mechanisms to enable the council to pursue its vision effectively and ensure that the vision is underpinned with control and the management of risk. The list of items referred to in this paragraph are usually called elements and mechanisms. This Project Management Framework is a key element within the council’s Strategic Governance as to deliver successful investment and transformational programmes and projects, and realise the ambition set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, the council needs to ensure plans are well-designed and well-executed. Good governance and good programme and project management arrangements therefore need to go hand in hand as essential components that ensures investment that is well-directed, delivered to time, cost, and quality targets, and provides the expected benefits and improved local outcomes. Project governance The governance of a project is much like the governance of an organisation with project governance being the framework for how project decisions are made. It keeps projects running smoothly and on budget, within time, and to the expected quality standards. It specifically refers to the elements and mechanisms that define the establishment, management, and control of projects, programmes, and portfolios. To do this consistently, there needs to be overall oversight of the project and the arrangements that define how a project should be governed. This should ensure:
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• There is a clear structure for decision making - this should include a Programme or Project Board relevant to the project in hand and clarity in terms of where this Board fits within existing council decision making structures such as the Corporate Management Team, the Strategic Capital Delivery Group, and the council’s Scheme of Delegation for Officers and Scheme of Administration. - Scheme of Delegation - The Scheme of Delegation sets out the powers delegated by the Council to officers, pursuant to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The Scheme is intended to facilitate the efficient conduct of council business by clearly setting out the nature and extent of the powers delegated to officers by the Council. All decisions require to be made in line with council policy, procedure, guidance and (where appropriate) within approved budget. This is available on Mars: https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/att90599.pdf - Scheme of Administration - The Scheme of Administration provides the details and different functions of committees and other groups of each council and the delegation of authority to carry out the functions of the council. This is available on Mars: https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/att98939.pdf • The right people are in place and roles and responsibilities are clearly identified - this includes the key roles on the Project Team, such as the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) and Project Manager as well as the Chair and Members of the Board. The Role Descriptors (on pages 12 to 14) provide a basic framework for identifying roles and responsibilities for each project. • There is open communication and the sharing of crucial information to support an effective project governance model. This includes regular, consistent reporting to assist project scrutiny that is ongoing and effective. There are many definitions of what constitutes good project governance, but they can all be summed up in the five principles set out in Figure. 13. In more detail this means: • Alignment to organisational objectives means that the projects undertaken by the council should be able to demonstrate, in the Project Brief and the Project Business Case, the contribution they make to the council’s long-term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. With this contribution clearly stated then the project context is clear and governance of the project can ensure that the project is - and remains to be - focused on the outcome rather than the activities. • The golden thread of delegated authority is a direct chain of accountability. Within this chain each person needs to know what their authority is and what needs to be referred to a higher level of authority within the chain, how and when. • Reporting - those to whom responsibilities have been delegated should periodically report on progress. In addition to regular progress reporting, additional reports need to be made if the person with delegated responsibility is unable to fulfil that responsibility, or if conflicts of interest arise. • Independent assurance means an ongoing independent check is required - of the structures and processes that support the project and of the information presented through the reporting process - to assess whether the project aims are being met. Figure 13: Good project governance
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• Decision gates - the adoption of disciplined project life cycle governance should include approval gates at which viability is reviewed and approved at specified points in the project life cycle in order to provide formal points of control where a decision is made to grant or renew authority for the project to continue. Capital investment Not all programmes and projects in the council’s Portfolio are part of the Strategic Capital Investment Programme, and they don’t necessarily have to be. It depends on the type and complexity of a project, and its alignment to the council’s vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. This section aims to raise awareness of the council’s capital investment arrangements in order to ensure clarity in terms of the relationship with the Project Management Framework. Improving assets through capital investment can help the council deliver services more efficiently and effectively, enhance people’s life experiences, and help to: • Sustain and improve public services and achieve delivery plans and improved local outcomes. • Improve the overall efficiency of how the council manages its properties and reduce costs in the long-term (this includes reducing carbon emissions and helping to contain the effect of rising energy prices). • Boost economic growth and stimulate economic recovery, by providing employment opportunities in construction and engineering as well as wider commercial opportunities for local and national businesses. • Achieve a wide range of other goals and objectives, in accordance with local priorities. Audit Scotland guidance on capital investment in councils states that: • Councils make their own decisions about capital investment and must ensure their spending plans are prudent, affordable, and sustainable. • Planning capital investment requires a long-term and strategic outlook. • Councils must also select, design, and deliver individual investment projects to a high standard. • Elected Members are important decision makers for capital investment and have a fundamental role in ensuring that councils deliver investment plans successfully. • Effective governance arrangements that manage, challenge, and scrutinise how capital programmes are delivered, and strong financial, project, and risk management are all important to ensure that investment provides value for money. The council’s capital governance structure is well established. At all levels of the governance structure, from working groups to committee level, there are clear arrangements for reporting and monitoring. All levels are supplied with reliable, regular information on the capital programme including details of current performance, financial performance, risk, and benefits management. The governance structure supporting the Capital Strategy to 2022/23 [ https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/att90194.pdf ] and five year Strategic Capital Investment Programme to 2025/26 [ https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/att97974.pdf ] is set out in Figure.14 below.
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Level Purpose Key activities Policy and Strategy Committee Approval body for capital investment decisions. Comprises Elected Members. • Approves the Capital Strategy. • Approves the Strategic Capital Investment Programme. • Approves the Corporate Asset Management Plan. • Approves project inclusion into the Strategic Capital Investment Programme and associated funding. Corporate Management Team Responsible for strategic oversight of The Plan for North Lanarkshire and Programme of Work. Chaired by the Chief Executive. • Maintains strategic oversight and monitoring of council budget, financial savings, housing revenue account, revenue and capital budgets, and associated programmes. Strategic Capital Delivery Group A working group convened of senior officers which advises Elected Members in terms of capital allocation and project approval and has responsibility for the day to day management of the capital programmes, including the realignment of resources to facilitate the effective delivery of the Council’s Strategic Capital Investment Programme, including: • General Services core investment programme (including town and community hubs and enterprise projects). • HRA mainstream investment programme. • HRA new supply programme. Working group chaired by the Depute Chief Executive. • Monitors the council’s Strategic Capital Investment Programme, including performance against delivery aims and objectives. • Advises Elected Members on capital allocations and project approval, making recommendations on and amendments to the approved capital programme. • Ensures the proper alignment of capital resources to allow for effective delivery of the programmes. • Monitors expenditure projections against budgets and available resources, revising these where necessary, subject to the limits set out in the Terms of Reference. • Ensures robust governance arrangements around the delivery, monitoring, and reporting of capital programmes. • Considers the quarterly capital monitoring report to Committee to ensure appropriate actions are agreed for review by Elected Members. • Ensures Participatory Budgeting principles are embedded in key capital investment decisions of the council. • Arranges and undertakes training and awareness sessions, as required, to reinforce skills and knowledge across the council in respect of capital monitoring and capital financing. • Ensures all decisions made by the Group are Intra Vires and in line with The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Programme or Project Boards Project groups for the capital programme, each chaired by a Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) • Reviews and challenges Programme / Project Plans. Figure 14: Governance of capital programmes and projects
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The key point to emphasise in relation to the Project Management Framework is that when the Strategic Capital Delivery Group assess capital bids from Chief Officers, these are not necessarily project specific and they can often be for a general sum of money. It is thereafter up to a Chief Officer (or Board or equivalent), to ensure that the specific projects to be delivered using this funding are clearly identified and developed, planned, and delivered in line with the Project Management Framework. Governance structures There are a significantly large number of Boards (or equivalent) and working groups in place to support delivery of the range of programmes and projects within the council’s portfolio. A useful distinction is set out in Figure. 15. There are also clear distinctions between programme and project Boards - the most specific being that the Programme Board is responsible for the programme blueprint (i.e. how the programme vision is to be achieved) and the means of achieving it (i.e. all the individual but related projects within it). Setting out the arrangements for a Programme or Project Board (or equivalent), which include the governance framework, is a key task in developing the Project Brief and finalising the Project Business Case. The 12 points in Figure. 16 (on page 37) provide a checklist for Project Boards (or equivalent) to ensure their arrangements comply with good governance and good project management. It is the responsibility of the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) and the Project Manager to ensure that the items on the checklist are implemented consistently. This checklist will also be part of a regular quality assurance programme which Boards will be subject to on a periodic basis. Reporting to all stakeholders To support an effective project governance model, there needs to be regular and consistent reporting to all stakeholders (including the Corporate Figure 15: Boards -v- Working Groups Figure 15: Boards -v- Working Groups
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Management Team, the council’s Committees, and all relevant Boards (or equivalent)). It is essential that this facilitates oversight of the relevant projects and enables scrutiny that is ongoing and effective. Reporting to all stakeholders should use the council’s standard report template. This template is supported by detailed guidance on how to complete each section. Good practice recommends that reports on the progress of specific programmes or projects assign a RAG status based on assessment criteria for three of the key dimensions within which the project requires to be delivered (i.e. cost, time, and quality) - as an example see Figure.17. In defining the assessment criteria required to establish the RAG status, the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) and Project Manager should ensure that tolerance levels should be agreed at the outset of the project by the relevant governing Board (or equivalent). This includes risk impact parameters and risk tolerances. If there is insufficient information to set all impact parameters at the outset, these should be set as and when the relevant information becomes available, but certainly the time the Project Business Case is completed. Setting impact parameters allows authority levels to be set for the Project Manager above which risks and issues must be escalated for the attention of the relevant stakeholder. Other information which is considered best practice to incorporate within progress reports to all stakeholders (including the Corporate Management Team, the council’s Committees, and the relevant Boards (or equivalent)) - in line with the tolerance levels and impact parameters established at the outset - includes the following: • The date period the report is referring to, which is important for version control purposes. • A summary of the status of the project - this may include a percentage identifying the status of projects completed, and a RAG status. • Progress made within the latest date period - including details of the milestones and performance achieved and the progress made in terms of Figure 17: Example of assessment criteria to assign a RAG status
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delivering the actions in project plan, inlcuding any recommendations for areas requiring improvement. • Requests for change - details on any significant changes to the project that affect the scope and could prevent the project from progressing. • Lessons learned - details of any lessons learned within the identified time-period that will improve future delivery of the project. • Information on key risks and issues in line with the escalation process; this should provide details on any known risks and issues within the time period of the report and set out what remedial action has been taken and if anything requires to be escalated. • Progress in terms of realising the expected benefits and/or achieving the intended outcomes originally set out in the Project Business Case.
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Quality assurance review programmeGood practice recommends that quality assurance activities are in place to establish a systematic process of Figure 16: Boards - good practice checklist
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reviewing the documentation and methods adopted by a project and verifying that they are meeting the intended quality standards. As one of the five dimensions in which the project requires to be delivered (i.e. scope, quality, time, cost/resources, and risk), quality is a critical success factor in project delivery - the higher the quality level, the more likely a project will meet its aims and realise the benefits and/or improved outcomes it set out to achieve. A quality assurance process can also help to identify potential risks arising from the way the project is being managed and/or governed, and it can increase the confidence of stakeholders by providing the assurances that there is a serious commitment to producing a high-quality deliverable, that project plans are well-designed and well-executed, and that good project management and good governance arrangements are in place to ensure investment is well-directed, delivered to time, cost, and quality targets, and provides the expected benefits and improved outcomes locally. As quality assurance involves a process of continuous improvement through the use of activities to verify and improve the project deliverables, a rolling review programme supports the Project Management Framework. This aims to provide the relevant assurances that projects are performing in line with organisational requirements and project decisions, and will (where applicable) produce a formal output to serve as the basis for implementing corrective actions. The quality assurance review programme, and the timings of each review to be undertaken therein, is informed by the Project Registers which each Chief Officer is required to maintain. Aligned to the five stages in the fundamentals of good project management (set out in Figure 11. on page 17), the type of quality assurance reviews to be undertaken will be conducted in line with the implementation of the mandatory tasks and advanced recommended practice, and with due consideration of the type, size, and complexity of a project, what the project aims to achieve, the project’s deliverables, and the requirements of any related industry standards. Project registers Strategic oversight of the range of programmes and projects, large-scale transformational activities, and capital investment programme activities in the council’s portfolio that use the Project Management Framework helps to provide a single source of truth across the organisation. It also further support good governance and good project management and promotes the sharing of good practice and lessons learned. As such, each Chief Officer is required to maintain a Project Register for their projects that use the Project Management Framework. For strategic governance and oversight purposes, Chief Officers must submit a copy of their Project Registers twice a year - as at the end of September and as at the end of March. The latter date corresponds to the submission of the annual Chief Officer Assurance Certificate and Checklist which aims to provide evidence in respect of the council’s governance arrangements. Project Registers should contain the following type of information as a minimum: • The name of the project (and where it is part of any related programme). • Expected start and finish dates. • Status, i.e. complete, in progress, at feasibility stage, etc. • Name of Senior Responsible officer (SRO). • Name of Project Manager (and Programme Manager, where applicable).
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• Governing Board, Working Group, or equivalent. Scrutiny Good practice also recommends that a council's audit and scrutiny committee have an important role to play in providing assurances about the delivery of major programmes and projects. Such a committee is not a decision-making forum in this respect and it does not replace any reviews undertaken by the Project Team or any independent reviews organised by a Board. Rather the role of such a committee is to be assured that suitable review procedures have been adopted and to gain assurance about the value of independent reviews that are undertaken during the project life cycle. The role of the council’s Audit and Scrutiny Panel in this respect will therefore be carried out in line with their terms of reference to provide “independent assurance to the council and those charged with governance on the adequacy of the council's risk management framework and internal control environment”. This strategic oversight of the council's governance, risk management, performance, and control frameworks (together with the annual governance processes) is central to ensuring effective scrutiny and delivery of statutory Best Value obligations. This means that the quality assurance process that supports the Project Management Framework will form part of the work programme for the scrutiny function of the council’s Audit and Scrutiny Panel and therefore be subject to high level reporting to the Panel to ensure an independent strategic oversight and assurance process.
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Appendix 3: Extract of the Fundamentals of good project management section from the Project Management Framework (2022) regarding ongoing reporting to all stakeholders. Note, as the following extract is a straight lift from the Project Management Framework (2022) document, it maintains the same page numbering and references to diagrams. These page numbers / references are therefore not relatable to this covering report.