Successful Programme Management In Public Partnerships Presented By: Stuart Duncan Programme Manager

Outline of Presentation Overview of the West Lothian Civic Centre programme Where are we know? What worked well? On reflection General observations

Public Partnership One of the Largest public service partnerships in the UK West Lothian Council Lothian & Borders Police Scottish Court Service Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration West Lothian Community Health Care Partnership Lothian & Borders Fire and Rescue Service £53 Million ’state of the art’ Civic Centre in Livingston Over 1,000 people co-located from 14 separate locations Officially opened November 2009       

The Vision To deliver a Seamless Public Service in West Lothian; Focus on outcomes Citizen focused ‘Joined-Up’ public services One that delivers Added Public Value, and One that our Citizens are Proud Of and herald as an Exemplar Model     

The Benefits Community Safety Licensing Criminal Justice Emergency Planning Shared Building     

Ground Floor First Floor Second Floor Ground Floor CouncilRegional Children’s Reporter Police / Courts Council / Police Police Civic Reception Collaborative Working

First Floor Second Floor First Floor Ground Floor Courts Council Collaborative Working

First Floor Second Floor Ground Floor Council District Procurator Fiscal Police Collaborative Working Police / Fire & Rescue Service

Programme Timeline

Programme Governance

Seamless public service One that adds public value 1. Vision Statement2. Blueprint 3. Benefits 4. Projects 5. Resources 6. Stakeholder Needs7. Risks & Assumptions 8. Timetable 9. Progress Monitoring 10. Transition Programme Plan Future state – clear description of what success looks like Programme outcomes broken down into individual benefit profiles with supporting benefits management strategy Projects portfolio People / Budgets / Equipment Building relationships – stakeholders, suppliers and users of services Communication plan Risks and issues log – with supporting risk management strategy Programme and project Gantt charts - initiation to benefits realisation Tranche reviews – including Gateway reviews Transition from old environment to new – co- location strategy One Citizens are proud of Programme Plan

Where Are We Know? All partners moved-in to the Civic Centre before the end of  Gateway Review 4 – overall assessment ‘Green’.  Relationships developed.  Some operational projects more advanced than others.  Partners developing joint working practices – maximising opportunities identified in benefits profiles.  Identifying new opportunities?  Gateway Review 5 – September 

Questions / Observations So Far?

What Worked Well? Partners have built-up a high degree of trust over the last 6 years.  Partners have done well to get to where they currently are. At strategic level – all partners are working towards the same aims and objectives.   ‘Light touch’ approach to programme & project management.  Programme governance structure.  At operational level - operational programme substantially a success although work in progress. 

What Worked Well? Having the support of a good Comms. Team – communications worked well.  Gateway Review – independent assessment at key milestones. MS SharePoint – central electronic repository. Building project concluded on time, to cost and to specification.   

On Reflection Good governance doesn’t guarantee delivery and execution – it only reduces risk.  Programme and project governance is straightforward – but what about cultural change? [Different organisations; different procedures; competing constraints] How do you align a multi-partner programme with individual organisation governance arrangements? Strategic buy-in, but what about practitioners and first line managers? Common objectives are for life; not just Christmas.    

On Reflection Don’t ‘parachute and airlift’ – embed operational delivery by making best use of practitioners and business change managers in project teams.  If time permits – design joint operational processes before designing ‘enablers’ such as buildings.  Project started on the basis of a building need and evolved – what’s the strategic imperative?  Don’t confirm project resources until project scope / objectives signed-off. 

General Observations Public service outcomes – no one organisation can deliver on their own.  Partnerships ‘are a good thing’ although need to be grounded on a common purpose and shared vision. Partners saw the greatest benefit laying with the development of relationships. The collective benefits of Partnership working needs to be greater than the individual parts. Partnership working means different things to different people.    

General Observations ‘Seasoned’ partners can get frustrated with what they observe as slow progress – those new to partnering generally ‘excited by the prospect’.  Can you have ‘a partnership of equals’, and is this important? Be prepared to compromise – there are winners and losers in delivering the greater good. Periodically re-focus on the original vision – are we achieving it? What still needs to be done? Do we need to change anything? Programmes and projects have a start and end – cultural change is dynamic.    

General Observations Be prepared to challenge convention and push the boundaries.  Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – if it’s not working, change it. 

Questions / Observations

Presented By: Stuart Duncan Programme Manager