APM Conference 2009 - Key Messages from Government

The Association for Project Management (APM)'s annual conference held on 21 October 2009 was again supported by the public sector.

The conference hosted the first Annual Conference of the Government PPM Profession, including public sector keynote and workshop speakers and attendance by more than 100 representatives of the PPM leadership community in Central Government and the devolved administrations, including 20 departmental Heads of Profession. Here are some of the key topics and issues raised by speakers.          

Nigel Smith
OGC Chief Executive and Government Head of Profession for PPM

Project management is increasingly important to Government

. Government implements change on a major scale and project management enables us to deliver our policy initiatives, such as reducing offending and getting people back to work.
. Project management, by its nature, assists in increasing efficiencies, and facilitates corporate/organisational agility - providing structure and control, which will be increasingly important in the current economic climate where funds are scarce.
. Success of the project management community in the private sector is also important to the Government, for two reasons:      

1) Successful projects in the private sector deliver products and services more profitably to customers, thus contributing to successful businesses, which are essential for a thriving economy.

2) Government is one of those customers, and needs the private sector to deliver public sector projects on time, within budget, and to specification.

Our challenges in public sector programme and project management

. The Government portfolio is enormous and often delivered under media scrutiny, unlike private sector projects. The most significant projects in Government range from the high profile such as The Olympics, Thames Gateway, Crossrail and M25 Widening, to those focusing on critical issues like Pandemic Flu, Flood Defence or the decommissioning of Nuclear Power Stations. All at the same time as delivering key projects which directly impact citizens such as Building Schools for the Future, Employment Support, IT for Health, and Pensions Transformation.
. Delivering major changes in Government can be very hard, and we need the best people to keep control of the changes and to make sure that what we deliver remains relevant and valuable to the taxpayer. We need to attract more PPM talent and to develop the talent we already have.
. Policy announcements or commitments are sometimes made before deliverability is fully understood.  The introduction of the Starting Gate concept, extending the OGC Gateway process back to the policy making stage, checks that delivery confidence is considered before a Department makes commitments or public announcements are made.
. We need to get the best from our suppliers, and increase our commercial skills, by working more closely with key suppliers, as in the IT profession.

The role of the professional body

. The APM have a key role to play in developing a common perception of what good looks like in project management, with common standards of competence, so that when Government and industry are working together to deliver projects we can understand each other better, and achieve a more successful outcome.

Bob Assirati (OGC, Major Projects Directorate)

. As projects and programmes get larger and more complex, the leadership role of the Project Director/Manager is increasingly dominated by the need for good communications, which can represent as much as 90% of the job. Particular issues involved in the public sector include communicating with politicians and with the public.
. This was linked by other speakers to the need for good Information Management across the project to ensure a single version of the truth.

Rob Stephens (OGC, Major Projects Directorate)

. OGC has reviewed the role of the SRO in the major programmes of Government and proposed a number of approaches aimed at improving the selection, development and support of SROs.
. The first of a series of networking events for SROs was launched by the Cabinet Secretary in November 2009.
. The report and related issues in the MPD Lessons Learned series are available on the OGC website.

For more information about the conference, please visit the APM website where you will also be able to find all the conference presentations.

The 2008 APM Conference also provided a number of key messages from Government.

APM Awards 2009
OGC are delighted that two Government projects were recognised by this year's awards judges. Congratulations go to:

The Olympic Delivery Authority on winning the Project of the Year Award, for their Powerlines Underground (PLUG) project.
 
Remploy, part of the DWP family of organisations, on winning Programme of the Year for their Modernisation Programme.

More entries from the public sector are encouraged for the 2010 APM Awards - please visit the APM website for more details on this year's awards.

If you have any award entry suggestions for 2010 please contact your local Head of Profession or Centre of Excellence (or equivalent).