Development of governance and programme structures to support transformation ambition
31ten were commissioned to support RBKC with enabling delivery of the newly released Council Plan 2023 – 2027, including the design of an effective governance structure to enable strategic prioritisation and provide assurance. The scope of work spanned two core areas:
1) Operationalising the Council Plan: Developing a Corporate Change Portfolio to capture large cross-cutting commitments in the Council Plan which seek to improve outcomes, reduce costs, and use the learning from the Grenfell tragedy to change for the better.
2) Improving programme management capabilities to provide assurance over the delivery of the Council Plan: Shaping robust and proportional governance mechanisms and strengthened programme management capabilities to enable effective oversight of the Corporate Change Portfolio.
The Role
31ten worked alongside RBKC’s corporate strategy team to undertake extensive stakeholder engagement with leads across the council to understand challenges, priorities, and existing approaches to project delivery and oversight. We worked with these leads to identify and define the core cross-cutting activities requiring collective oversight from the Corporate Change Portfolio.
Utilising information gathered in the initial stakeholder engagement and analysis, we developed criteria to determine project eligibility for inclusion in the Corporate Change Portfolio. Projects that did not require this cross-cutting governance are managed through a separate, proportional governance structure under the ‘Council Plan Action Plan’.
A refreshed governance framework was developed to strengthen programme management capabilities and provide the infrastructure to oversee, manage and provide delivery assurance. The framework places emphasis on ‘proportional governance’ to ensure the levels of assurance applied consider the scale, risk, and impact of the project, preventing unnecessary administration, in turn enabling focus on delivery.
Key Outcomes
This assignment provided the Council with:
- Refreshed governance framework and portfolios for project delivery
- Framework and criteria to ensure proportion governance
- High-level delivery plans for the top 3 projects in the Corporate Change Portfolio
- Terms of reference for key governance forums
- Best practice project management templates
- Resourcing considerations for the provision of a centralised project management office
The refreshed governance framework and change portfolios have been communicated via interactive workshops to stakeholders across the council and received significant buy-in. RBKC is ultimately equipped with the tools, infrastructure, and know-how to successfully deliver the commitments outlined in the Council Plan 2023-2027.
31ten set themselves apart by the way in which they work with you. They ask the right questions and work collaboratively to understand the issues. Their approach helped us to think through how to drive through our strategic commitments.
Ameeta Rowland
Director of Corporate Strategy – Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
