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Posts tagged: "Project management"
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Posted on November 16, 2016 by Emma Willson
Many critical government activities rely on contracts. Following a review of our past work, and discussions across government, we’ve brought together our insights into what works well and less well across government commercial and contracting. We’ve identified case studies based on our past reports and what this means for emerging best practice. This post highlights our findings and explains the challenge for government to meet these higher standards. more… Government’s contracts – new insights into best practiceTagged: Contract insights series, Contract management, Cross-government, Good practice principles, Performance management, Process management, Project management, Public sector markets, Risk management, Shared services, Skills
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Posted on September 5, 2016 by Joshua Reddaway
How to apply open book accounting principles without the cost of open-book accounting
Government uses contracts to deliver many public services and has a duty to get value for money. Two recent NAO investigations illustrate, in two very different situations, how contracts can founder when the procuring organisation lacks understanding about the relationship between the contractors’ cost of providing the service and the price of the contract. That’s why central government is now required to apply open-book contract management. But expertise, time and effort is required to apply it in full. For low-risk, more straight-forward contracts, we set out a low-cost, minimal open-book approach. more… Contracting: A minimal open book approachTagged: Contract management, Cost reduction, Cross-government, Good practice principles, Investigations, Performance management, Project management, Risk management
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Posted on August 17, 2016 by Tom McDonald
Ever wished to be a Saint – or to visit the world’s oldest land animal: Jonathan, the 184 year-old tortoise? To help the 4,100 ‘Saints’ – the residents of the UK Overseas Territory of St Helena – to become economically and socially sustainable, the UK funded the island’s first airport. But the airport’s opening has been delayed and our investigation highlights the challenges and risks to Realising the benefits of the St Helena Airport Project. This is an unusual and fascinating example of project decision-making. It also highlights common issues about managing high risk projects, potential optimism bias in forecasting, and the challenges of realising project benefits. more… Forecasting for ‘Saints’Tagged: Forecasting, Good practice principles, International, Investigations, Major projects, Overseas aid, Project management
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Posted on April 20, 2016 by Simon Bittlestone
The problem’s identified; the policy-fix is designed; but then the public doesn’t respond as expected. It’s an old story, and not unique to the public sector. But the consequences of inadequate consumer understanding and lack of early-warning signs can be costly – as our recent report, Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation, shows.more… Understanding consumers: it’s crucial
Tagged: Behaviour change, Climate change, Environmental sustainability, Good practice principles, Performance management, Project management
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Posted on March 18, 2016 by Elliott White
£5 billion: Potential underestimate of forecast costs in the Ministry of Defence 10 year equipment plan. 32,000: The over-estimate in the number of new homes the New Homes Bonus policy would deliver in its first ten years, as a result of an arithmetical error in a forecasting model. These findings in our reports Major Projects Report 2015 and Forecasting in government show that models really matter! So how can you be sure your model is producing accurate forecasts? more… Beautiful models: robust and reasonableTagged: Cross-government, Forecasting, Good practice principles, Impacts, Performance management, Project management
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Posted on January 11, 2016 by Geraldine Barker
Major projects are risky. They’re complex. They’re costly. They’re high-profile. They’re interdependent. They’re prone to falling short of promised benefits and/or exceeding budgets. In short, they are challenging to deliver. And much of government’s work is delivered through major projects. With the publication on 6 January of our briefing for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Delivering major projects in government, and the recent creation of our new Managing major projects web-page, I’m delighted to share some of lessons we’ve identified from our review of hundreds of major projects over many years. more… The challenges of major projectsTagged: Cross-government, Financial sustainability, Good practice principles, Major projects, Performance management, Project management
Government’s contracts – new insights into best practice
Contracting: A minimal open book approach
Understanding consumers: it’s crucial
Beautiful models: robust and reasonable
The challenges of major projects
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