Local government is in need of updated cloud technology to efficiently implement council project management, with the potential of funding from the Levelling Up fund
Time is gradually running out for local government to invest £4.8 billion of Levelling Up funding. By the 2024 and 2025 deadlines, councils across the UK are required to use awarded funds to deliver 216 projects which include two £50 million schemes to create a new tramline in Cardiff and transform Morecambe seafront in Lancashire.
Delivery of these types of projects is a complex challenge and, for them to be a success, local government needs to ensure the appropriate IT systems are in place for effective project portfolio management (“PPM”).
This is where local councils have the opportunity to do more with the modern cloud technologies that are at their fingertips.
Suitable IT systems will increase the likelihood of project success
Alongside council project management and governance, delivery processes and the availability of qualified delivery teams, the implementation of suitable IT systems will increase the likelihood of project success because of their ability to join up all relevant project data and documents.
In turn, this will enable automated reporting and allow stakeholders to monitor projects with full visibility. Optimising the use of data in this way will support improved resource and financial management, risk control and many other core processes.
Improved resource and financial management, risk control and many other core processes
Local councils boast some of the most diverse portfolios of any sector, with projects extending from regeneration schemes to engineering operations. Digital initiatives are by far the most prominent of these and maintain an influence over all other projects and services.
Despite this, modern PPM systems are by no means readily available in local government. Often, project teams have to rely on the use of disconnected spreadsheets and similar tools to manage information, making room for increased human error, wasted resources and lost time.
Threatening the reputation of and trust in local government
Many local councils have a Project Management Office (PMO) in place that will manually paste data received from individual projects into aggregate management reports. By the time these council project management reports are published, they may be several weeks out of date, leaving executive stakeholders and project sponsors without access to the latest information.
As a result, decision-making can be compromised and make it difficult for these groups to respond to information requests from their peers. The fallout from this is an increased risk of project failure and potential damage to the reputation of and trust in local government.
The problem of inadequate PPM systems is common across all public and private sectors and begs the question of why organisations have not invested in appropriate tools, given the significant benefits they promise.
The answers are manifold and include a lack of awareness, particularly at executive level, where the reluctance to mobilise the budgets needed to acquire and implement such tools is prevalent. But whilst the costs of using and operating PPM systems are high, the functionality of these tools makes them a rewarding investment.
Storing project data in flexible enterprise databases
However, the widescale adoption of modern cloud technologies by local governments in recent years offers new opportunities for project teams to access modern tools. Cloud collaboration platforms, such as Microsoft 365, are now widely available and can be utilised to solve many of the problems that have traditionally plagued project delivery.
At the heart of this is the ability to store project data in flexible enterprise databases within the cloud tenant that the council already owns. Replacing hundreds of detached spreadsheets, this kind of database provides the ‘single source of truth’ needed by modern business intelligence tools that deliver self-service dashboards.
Modern cloud-based task and work management tools can be embedded to track assignments and store project documents in a single place for instant access.
The team collaboration enabled by modern cloud platforms is what makes them a driver of project success. Particularly pertinent is the support for remote working and collaboration across organisational boundaries, with cloud platforms enabling partners and suppliers to be invited into project teams to share information and collaborative processes.
All of these services can now be orchestrated and connected in a digital platform that many local councils already use on a day-to-day basis. This is a huge advantage because it ensures project team members are familiar with the platform’s user experience, making it less likely that they will resist the adoption of new system-based processes.
Easier automation and integration
Applying the cloud platform councils already own to address PPM challenges makes sense in many other ways; a single platform approach opens the door to easier automation and integration, ensuring only one system is shared across the whole organisation.
Achieving this will additionally minimise IT security concerns and administrative overheads because all data is stored in the cloud the council already supports, with a positive impact on the cost of ownership. The use of a single cloud platform will also ensure local government can apply emerging artificial intelligence-based features for improved productivity in future.
The government has spent less than 10% of its Levelling Up fund – there is still time for councils to apply their digital infrastructure
As with the deployment of any form of technology, taking an iterative approach is essential. The implementation of any digital tool for PPM should be seen as a journey with a focus on user adoption.
At the right time, this council project management journey may include the deployment of sophisticated features, such as financial investment and resource management tools, integration with line of business systems or timesheets, typically with third-party solution templates.
With the government having spent less than 10% of its Levelling Up fund, there is still time for councils to apply their digital infrastructure to support project teams more effectively and increase their chances of successful project delivery. If councils are to deliver Levelling Up projects by the deadlines, doing more with the cloud technologies they already own could be a key enabling factor.
This piece was written and provided by Gero Renker, a co-founder and director of portfolio, project and programme consultancy firm, Program Framework.
