3.3. Programme management Successes Management of a complex process: The project team successfully managed a complex process involving a number of partner organisations. The pilot covered issues that many of the team were not initially familiar or comfortable with, e.g. behaviour change, but it provided a valuable learning experience for all involved. Challenges Internal capacity: The delivery of three pilot projects was perhaps too ambitious given the resource allocated to the project. Also, the programme did not have enough internal capacity to help deliver the project. Although external providers were commissioned to implement aspects of the project, greater internal delivery capacity was needed. The lack of capacity meant that there was a limit to what could be delivered. It also resulted in much of the project management role being spent on delivery rather than oversight. Difficulty recruiting ‘local’ volunteers/champions: Groundwork struggled to recruit local Barnet residents to undertake face-to-face engagement (i.e. at the doorstep). The intention had been to recruit people from the pilot area so that they would carry more credibility when talking to residents. This proved difficult and in the end they were forced to recruit from outside of Barnet. We may potentially have more success with face-to-face engagement had the messenger been local. Internal local communications expertise was lacking at stages of the project: The project was heavily focused on communications and engagement. Social marketing skills were at the heart of the project (finding the right messages and channels to reach residents). Staff shortages/changes in personnel in Barnet’s Communications Team meant that, at certain times, in-house communications expertise was lacking. Decisions about communication channels and messaging were therefore guided by Futerra, but may have benefited from local communications knowledge. It is difficult to know what impact this may have had on the delivery of communications material. Time constraints: The pressure to deliver findings to both Members and DCLG meant that there was an emphasis on delivering the project quickly. In hindsight, behaviours are tough to change and it is questionable as to whether 3 months is a long enough period to have made a substantial impact Learning Nurture connections with local community groups and business community: The council had no ongoing relationships with community groups or business. This made attempts to engage local community groups, who could be useful conduits and advocates for getting messages out, difficult. It is likely that we would have had more success with resident engagement had we been able to form links with these intermediary groups. In the future greater time and resources need to be invested in recruiting partners, the efforts will reap the rewards at a later stage.
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