WIREDGOV

Association for Project Management goes live on WiredGov.

With the comprehensive current press coverage of massive cost over-runs of HS2, delays in the complete opening of Crossrail and the need to ‘deliver’ on promised new multiple transport projects (outside of London) in the newly ‘Blue’ areas of the UK, the need for Project Management skills can only be on the increase.

Projecting the future – Mobility and Transport

The Association for Project Management (APM), is an award-winning chartered body for the project profession, that is committed to developing & promoting the value of project management to deliver improved project outcomes for societal benefit.

APM is a registered educational charity with over 30,000 individual members and more than 500 organisations participating in the Corporate Partnership Programme, making it the largest professional body for project management in Europe.

Understanding & managing risks is a cornerstone of project risk management

Effective project risk management is necessary for a successful project.  The world is changing around us, and this presents new challenges such as robotics, artificial intelligence, climate change and more; in other words, risks.  That is why understanding and managing risks is vital to project success and a knowledge cornerstone of project risk management.

The key to successful project risk management ~ How EVM is a cornerstone of project risk management ~ Project risk analysis & management mini-guide

Spending (especially public sector spending) without planning only leads to wasted £bns, especially if projects are not planned, controlled and (critically) monitored.  Many of us remember Tony Blair’s initial costing of sub-£3bn for a fully ‘digitised’ NHS in 2002.  The project ended up costing £12bn+ before it was cancelled.

MPs report on information and communications technology in government

All the rules of ‘good’ project management were broken during that project and similar mistakes seem to be happening with HS2.  Project Managers have a key role to play as we prepare for a post-Brexit economy and the APM will be at the forefront of meeting that challenge.

Association for Project Management (APM) has partnered with the Institute for Government to deliver an event about ‘How to deliver major government projects’ featuring a keynote speech by Nick Smallwood, Chief Executive Officer of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) and Head of Government’s Project Delivery Function:

How to deliver major government projects: keynote speech by Nick Smallwood (Event fully booked – available to live stream)

Pharmacy customers in Knowsley are being offered a free pulse check as part of a project to reduce the number of strokes in the region.

Ten community pharmacists in Knowsley are helping to detect atrial fibrillation – an irregular pulse which can lead to life-threatening strokes.  The first of its kind in the UK, the project is being led by the Innovation Agency, the Academic Health Science Network for the North West Coast, and is supported by NHS Knowsley CCG, Local Pharmaceutical Committee and Pharmacy Local Professional Network.

As part of its programme to reduce AF-related strokes in the region, the Innovation Agency is working in partnership with a number of organisations, distributing mobile ECG devices that can detect an irregular pulse, one of the symptoms of AF.

The pharmacists will test customers’ pulses while they wait for prescriptions and signpost people with an irregular pulse to their GP. Should customers be diagnosed with AF, the pharmacist can offer advice on how to manage the condition with medication and lifestyle support.

Dstl has opened the UK's first dedicated wargaming centre for use by all 3 services and conducted the inaugural exercise, Eagle Warrior 19.

The Defence Wargaming Centre (DWC) on Dstl’s Portsdown West site near Portsmouth is hosting wargames for all three services, with the RAF having conducted the first exercise, Eagle Warrior 19, last month (December 2019).  Wargame participants experience the rigour & implications of decision making in a “safe to fail” environment, without the risk, expense & disruption of live exercises or real operations.

Group Captain Christopher Platt, Dstl’s Senior Air Advisor, commented: “Eagle Warrior 19 was a genuinely ambitious experiment that challenged participants to think about Command & Control of the Next Generation Royal Air Force. Staying one step ahead of an information savvy adversary is a constant challenge, we will need to embrace a combination of information technologies such as cloud computing, edge processing, machine learning and automation, so this wargame was a good step towards understanding the pros and cons of different approaches.”