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Strategy Development > Strategy Formulation > Management Issues

Project Management

The project management plan should be reviewed and revised in response to any changes in priorities, milestones, or meeting dates. Initial thought should also be given to the project end game. For example, how the final report will be produced and communicated.

People Management

Team roles, responsibilities and workstreams should continue to be monitored and progress assessed. It may be an appropriate time for informal mid-project appraisals and to seek feedback from the team.

This is also the time to start thinking about whether any changes are required to the composition of the team. For example, to bring in more policy-oriented team members who can start working up policy options in order to achieve the strategic direction being identified. Involving representatives of delivery agencies will also help to ensure buy-in to the strategy. At this stage in the project it may be useful to have another team-building event, particularly if there are new team members coming on board.

Stakeholder Management

Continued active management of stakeholders will be required. In particular, it is important to unpack the meaning of 'we' when asking "where do we want to be?". Many initiatives fail because 'we' is assumed to be clear. However, different elements in government, the public sector and private sector will have different ideas. It is therefore fundamental to confirm that there is a clear and united 'we' at this stage.

In particular, at this stage in the project it will be important to meet with stakeholders to discuss emerging strategic options. This will enable agreement to the proposed option to be secured, and also to test how radical the subsequent policy recommendations can be. It is important that the analysis is presented clearly and logically, with a compelling story. The storyboarding technique can be of assistance when preparing presentations. The stakeholder management plan should be revisited and revised according to any changes in stakeholder support or influence.

Communications Management

The communications plan should also be reviewed and revised in the light of any changes. Communications during the phase should be evaluated to identify any problems and lessons learned. Thought should also be given to how to communicate the project outputs at the end of the project.

Useful links:

> managing people and the project

> managing stakeholders & communications