Dashboard – priority projects 

• Created following review of change programme by PwC to further develop best practice.
• Previously a single dashboard using the RAG (red, amber, green) system to highlight project progress, which was too simplistic. 
• Now we are monitoring different aspects including the gateway the project is in and savings (to date and projected).
• PwC also helped us create standarised workbooks that all projects need to complete and keep up to date. 
• These workbooks provide a robustness and consistency to project reporting, and determine movement through four gateways: 
  • Gateway 1 – business case built around ideal
  • Gateway 2 – project initiation document created listing service benefits, projected savings, milestones etc
  • Gateway 3 – implementation … delivery of project.
  • Gateway 4 – close of project and move to business as usual. 
• Projects can only move to the  next gateway once progress has been independently verified by Finance, HR, Programme Management Office, Project Sponsor and workstream SRO.
• Moves away from project teams "marking their own homework".
• Dashboard monitors  priority projects. 
• Priority projects are those identified as providing the largest transformational change – whether savings, service delivery benefits or both.
• Currently, the priority projects are projected to achieve between 89% to 90% of savings linked to transformation in our business plan.
• Projects sitting within the Communities Workstream are by and large providing the greatest savings. 
• A roadmap listing key milestones also included.
• This highlights major project achievements on the horizon until end 2021.

Closer to Home

• Falkirk Council has roughly 355 looked after children, 18% of which are living in residential provision (compared to Scottish national average of 10%).
• Significant costs attributed to this and outcomes are not necessarily improved. 
• Closer to Home looking to:
  • Shift the balance of care safely improve outcomes and opportunities for some of our most vulnerable children and young people 
  • Create efficiencies.
• Strategy originally to be delivered in 5 years, now expanded to 7 due to the impact of the pandemic. 
• Now in phase 2, with 8 projects making up the Closer to Home change programme – 6 active; 2 coming onstream this year.
• Achievements to date:
  • Supported accommodation – nine independent flats to support young people as they transition to adulthood.
  • Procurement – identified and created efficiencies when buying services from care providers, partners and Third Sector.
  • Foster care – attracted additional in-house foster carers and expanded foster care framework to purchase placements.
  • Family support – two pilots launched with partners to help reduce the number of young people going to residential care.
  • Best Practice in Child Protection – Initial Response Team will launch in June to assess needs of the child at the earliest opportunity.
  • Young People at the centre of residential care – remodelling local residential houses.
• Since August last year, reduced the number of young people in residential provision by 8 resulting in £1.5m of savings.
• Next steps:
  • Conclude the realignment of in-house family support – currently consultation ongoing with Trades Unions.
  • Embed model and culture change – look after our young people rather than look to residential care.
  • Focus on improvement and staff learning – how we manage and identify risk earlier, identification of dependencies with universal service partners etc.
  • Evaluate family support pilot projects – against outcomes and projected efficiencies.

Change Fund

• Recruitment process underway for key roles being financed through the Change Fund. 
• Job market not as buoyant as hoped, but working with recruiters to identify the right candidates.
• Also looking at internal resource to assess skills and expertise that may be able to taken on roles. 

COTF Programme Risk Register

• A review of the risk register will be complete 11 June to capture the strategic risk linked with the change programme.

Next meeting: 6 July