Press Releases

Government Launches Drive to Improve Project Delivery Skills of Civil Service

The Government today launched its latest initiative in the drive to improve the delivery skills of Civil Servants tasked with managing complex or major government projects.

The Successful Delivery Skills Programme (SDS) was jointly announced by Peter Gershon, Chief Executive of the Office of Government Commerce and Sir Andrew Turnbull, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service.

Launching the programme, Sir Andrew Turnbull commented:

"It is a great pleasure for me formally to launch the Successful Delivery Skills programme.  It fits exactly within the framework the Prime Minister has set out for change and reform in the Civil Service and the wider public sector and is a key part of the programme I am developing. So it is very heartening, so early into my new post, to be able to launch a programme which meets so well one of the needs I have identified".

The Successful Delivery Skills Programme is a benchmark standard of successful delivery skills. It is supported by a development programme to help government departments improve the competence of their commercial practitioners and others to successfully deliver complex and major projects.  The programme includes a Skills Framework and an Assessment Tool, supported by an innovative training scheme to be delivered by an OGC appointed Managed Service Provider.

Peter Gershon said:

"The launch of the Successful Delivery Skills programme is the culmination of extensive cooperation between OGC and Departments to develop a comprehensive approach to ensure that staff in central civil government have the skills to meet the challenge of Government's acquisition activities in the 21^st Century. This is an extensive programme designed to drive forward real improvements in the delivery of public sector project delivery".

The main components of the SDS Programme include: 

• An SDS Community Management Board comprising departmental leaders of programme and project management to focus on embedding the Successful Delivery Skills Programme across government.
• A website, giving details of the Programme and giving access to on-line booking of training as well as (in due course) listings of vacancy opportunities in public sector programme and project management. 
• An interactive 'Skills Passport' to record details of an individual's training & development, together with their programme and project management experience. 
• A Continuous Professional Development scheme 

The Successful Delivery Skills programme has been developed with the support of the OGC Supervisory Board, led by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Paul Boateng, and aims to help departments produce long term improvements in the programme and project delivery skills of civil servants. 

OGC has worked closely with the Cabinet Office and the Office of Public Services Reform on their work in support of the civil service delivery and reform agenda.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. Press enquiries to Martin Day at the Office of Government Commerce 020 7211 1318/1366 or Martin.Day@ogc.gsi.gov.uk

2. Established in April 2000, the OGC was set up to act as a catalyst in procurement issues and to work with civil departments to achieve best value for money in their commercial activities. Responsible for civil central government procurement policy and best practice including Construction, Property Management, IT, the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), supplier relations including opening government contracts to SMEs, e-commerce including the Government Procurement Card, the Gateway Review Process, OGCbuying.solutions, including the Government buying catalogues, G-Cat  and S-Cat and developing strategic procurement partnerships with the private sector. 

3. Copies of the Successful Delivery Toolkit are available from the OGC Service Desk on 0845 000 4999 or alternatively contact them via e.mail on ServiceDesk@ogc.gsi.gov.uk

4. A special website has been set up to support the programme and can be viewed at www.sds.ogc.gov.uk