Developing project leadership across government

11 Aug 2014 02:54 PM

Francis Maude announced the Project Leadership Programme, the next phase of the government's approach to major taxpayer-funded projects.

The Project Leadership Programme (PLP) will improve the skills and capability of civil servants who work on important government projects. TheMajor Projects Authority (MPA), launched in 2011 to improve major projects and ensure they achieve results for taxpayers, will manage the programme.

Senior leaders who work on the top 200 major projects across government are already eligible to attend the award-winning Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA). The new programme is for those who work on important projects which fall just outside this portfolio.

The PLP is part of the government’s longer term plans to develop project leadership skills across government. The programme is intended for 300 participants each year. It combines expert academic theory with hands-on learning and will:

address common causes of project failure
significantly improve the quality of management among the leaders of critical projects
share learning across government

A pilot, for up to 50 participants, will begin in October. The MPA will run a tender process to determine who will provide the course in the longer term. Soft market testing has already begun and a prior information notice will be published later in August with information on a ‘meet the buyer’ day planned for early October.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude said:

As part of this government’s long-term economic plan we are improving the way our major projects are run, saving billions along the way. Already, major project leaders across government have access to the world-classMPLA and this new pilot programme targets the next wave of project managers. It will help us to ensure that throughout the civil service we are continuing to drive standards, developing the right skills and ultimately delivering better services for the public.

John Manzoni, CEO of the MPA said:

Government manages and delivers some of the most transformative projects in the country. To deliver these efficiently and effectively for taxpayers, it’s vital that we continue to build the skills of our project leaders. The MPLA has already made significant progress in this regard and now we want to progress this to the next level of project leaders.

This is also part of our work to create a career path for staff who work in project delivery across government so that we build our leadership capability and continue to attract the best talent.