Assurance

In a recent report the National Audit Office assessed a third of major Government projects as in doubt or unachievable. The cost to the taxpayer is estimated as £170 billions. It is reasonable to assume that the Government are not alone in this problem.

In order to change, an organisation it is often necessary to establish projects or programmes. These are temporary structures or teams whose purpose is usually to create a new product or way of working and then to close down and hand over to the business as usual team. 

In order to improve the likelihood of your projects and programmes delivering; what you expected, when you expected it and at the cost you anticipated, it is important to have in place some means of being assured that they are on track.

Elloe Consulting have a strong track record of successful project and programme delivery in the public sector. We are now able to apply our learning to other organisations to help sponsors and managers of projects and programmes to deliver their initiatives more consistently.

Major projects are expensive, and carry uncertainty and risk. Unsurprisingly, many fall short of their objectives, in terms of cost and/or outcomes. To help minimise this we report on:

  1. Purpose: Is there a strategic need for the project and is it the right project to meet the need?
  2. Value: Does the project provide value for money?
  3. Set-up: Is the project set up in accordance with good practice and are risks being well managed?
  4. Delivery and Variation: Are mechanisms in place to deliver the intended outcomes and respond to change, and is the project progressing according to plan?

Assurance can be delivered in two ways:

Internal assurance can be carried out by peers within the organisation. This type of assurance can be applied regularly and for little cost. The objectivity of this type of assurance can, however, be weakened as the assurer may have loyalties to the corporate policy or to their team member. Whilst there is certainly a place for this type of assurance, in more high risk projects there may be a need to use a more objective assurance.

External assurance has the benefit of independence from the organisation and its people. The assurance can therefore give strategic managers a high degree of confidence in whether an initiative is likely to deliver what is needed for the organisation.

At Elloe Consulting we are able to help with both aspects of assurance. 

We run internal assurance training, during which we will equip your people with the skills and tools needed to assure the successful delivery of projects and programmes. We will help delegates to learn how to avoid the pit falls of biased thinking in carrying out internal assurance activities.

Alternatively we can provide an objective assurance report which highlights both areas of concern and examples of good practice. These reports will assist Sponsors of projects and programmes to make informed decisions about the viability of the project, the likelihood of it delivering the desired outcome and make recommendations as to how to improve the efficiency of the project process.