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Strategy Development > Justification & Set Up

Phase

Tasks

Output

As the need for fresh strategic thinking starts to emerge, it is important to bring clarity to the scope, rationale and approach for the proposed work.

At this early stage it is important to:

• demonstrate the need for the project
• identify and structure the issues that need to be addressed
• plan how the project will be structured
• pull together an appropriate team.

Justifying the need for the project is key to securing buy-in from stakeholders and generating momentum behind the need to challenge conventional thinking. This will require a close examination of the issues in order to define and agree the scope of the project. It is also helpful at this stage to identify a Minister or senior official that can act as the project's sponsor.

Clarifying the issues to be addressed will also help to highlight logical workstreams for the project and hence necessary roles and responsibilities within the team. This should be documented in a project plan along with a commitment to particular outputs and milestones, an assessment of risks to the project's successful completion, and a description of the proposed project governance structure. Even at this early stage the project plan should be accompanied by a plan for stakeholder engagement and a communications strategy.

Throughout this phase it will become increasingly clear what kind of project team will be needed. By the end of the phase a team should be in place that is large enough to handle the expected workload, has all the necessary skills and experience and is acceptable to all the key stakeholders.

It can take a significant amount of time to clarify and agree the issues to be addressed with stakeholders, to agree the project budget and to recruit the right team. As a result this phase can often take longer than initially expected. It is however a crucial foundation for the rest of the project and plenty of time should be allowed for it.

Skills relevant to this phase include:

> structuring the thinking

> managing people and the project

> managing stakeholders and communications