Your Location: Home > Implementation Planning > CIU Business Plan 2007-08 Print this page

CIU Business Plan 2007-08

• Preface
• At a glance
• The Unit
• The Unit’s business model
• Governance
• The Unit's resources
• Some judgments
• The work to date
• What we will deliver
• Critical success factors
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Our commitments to our stakeholders
• Risk and risk management
• Learning and development

Preface

The effective implementation and delivery of Government policies and programmes is critical to good public administration. The Cabinet Implementation Unit was established in October 2003. Over the past four years the Unit has worked closely and collaboratively with a large number of stakeholders to provide the Prime Minister and the Cabinet with high quality reports on the implementation of key Government decisions. In so doing, the Unit has strived to add value by improving implementation processes and capabilities within and across agencies.

This Business Plan is designed to build on this work and outlines the Unit’s focus in 2007-08. It has been developed on the basis of feedback from internal and external stakeholders and a series of planning sessions. Progress against the Business Plan will be reviewed regularly throughout the year.

The Unit welcomes comments or suggestions in relation to the Business Plan.

Kim Terrell
Assistant Secretary
Cabinet Implementation Unit

Top

At a glance

Our vision

To make implementation matter.

Our mission

To work with agencies to ensure that Government decisions are implemented on time, on budget and to expectations.

Our priorities

In 2007-08 we will focus on:

Priority 1:
Maintaining the quality of the Unit’s monitoring and reporting and improving the Unit’s capabilities

Priority 2:
Providing advice on implementation trends and issues across government, including systemic barriers to implementation and potential solutions

Priority 3:
Assisting agencies to improve the implementation of Government decisions that receive ‘Red’ or ‘Amber’ traffic lights

Priority 4:
Providing advice and support to Government in relation to the establishment and management of strategic priorities for portfolios

Priority 5:
Running an effective outreach program which contributes to better implementation practices across portfolios

The way we will work

We will uphold PM&C and APS values and focus on:

Vigilance:
We will be constantly alert and report accurate, timely and useful information

Objectivity:
We will be meticulous in our fact finding and analysis, and objective in our reporting

Adding value:
We will work with and respect our stakeholders, thereby adding value to the implementation process

Our team:
We will support each other and strive to have a stimulating and productive work environment

The Unit

The CIU was established in late 2003 to make the delivery of Government policy decisions a priority. In practice, this means the Unit promotes early and effective planning for policy delivery, and follows up to see that key decisions are being carried out on time, on budget and to Government expectations. It does this in three ways.

Firstly, the Unit seeks to ensure that policy prepared for consideration by the Prime Minister and Cabinet has clear goals and clarity about how it will be implemented.

Secondly, the Unit works with departments and agencies to improve implementation planning and the delivery of policy initiatives. This includes helping agencies prepare implementation plans and identify, assess and manage implementation risks.

Thirdly, the Unit monitors the progress of the implementation of key Government decisions and reports to the Prime Minister and Cabinet on the status of these decisions. At the time of preparing this Plan the Unit was monitoring, via its quarterly and six monthly traffic light reports, the implementation of some 80-90 major policy initiatives involving some 200 individual measures.

Top

The Unit’s business model

The following model captures the key activities undertaken by the Unit in supporting the implementation of Government decisions.

Governance

The Unit operates as a Branch of the Cabinet Division of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C). As such, the head of the Unit reports to the Secretary of the Department through the First Assistant Secretary, Cabinet Division and relevant Deputy Secretary.

The Unit’s performance is judged largely by the degree of satisfaction of its work by the Prime Minister, the Secretary of PM&C, the Secretary to Cabinet and the PM&C Executive. The Unit’s product is very much a Departmental product and it operates in a broader PM&C framework. The relevant elements of the PM&C Portfolio Budget Statement for 2007-08 are:

The Department’s Mission	To contribute to the good governance of Australia by supporting the Prime Minister and the Cabinet in the effective development and delivery of policies across the whole of government, to achieve well coordinated, efficient and accountable public administration and to demonstrate excellence in leadership in the Australian Public Service.
The Cabinet Division’s role	To support and strengthen the strategic role of Cabinet
The CIU’s Outputs for 2007-08: Monitoring of the implementation of strategic Cabinet decisions	Quality	The degree of satisfaction of the Prime Minister, the Secretary, the Secretary to Cabinet and the PM&C Executive
	Timeliness	Quarterly reports are produced within agreed timeframes
	Quantity	Some 200 policy measures are monitored throughout the year

The Unit is also committed to monitoring the implementation of between 5-10 key Indigenous measures under the Department’s May 2007 Reconciliation Action Plan.

The Unit has various stakeholders in departments and agencies and within industry (especially those parts involved in project and programme management), and seeks to work with these people in a positive way. The Unit also recognizes the important role played by the CIU Reference Group. The Reference Group was established by the Secretary of PM&C in 2005. It consists of senior officers from 15 departments and agencies and provides a useful consultation and feedback mechanism for the Unit.

Top

The Unit's resources

The Unit currently has an operational budget of some $1.5m per annum and is staffed by some 11 APS officers. It is divided into five sections, each led by a Senior Adviser. The sections are responsible for planning, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of policy initiatives and for additional core business activities.

While this structure is unlikely to change much over 2007-08, it is highly likely that the responsibilities within individual sections will change to accommodate workloads and priorities. As part of this approach, staff will continue to adopt a flexible approach to their day-to-day work to ensure that key priorities are achieved. Every effort will also be made to ensure that there is stability within the Unit so that officers are able to develop strong working relationships with PM&C Divisions and agencies. Work will also be allocated to staff on the basis of their expertise (policy, program and project management), interests and career goals.

Some judgments

A number of judgments underpin this Plan. The first is that the effective implementation of Government decisions is a core element of good public administration and critical to Australia’s long terms success.
A second judgment is that, in general, the implementation of Government decisions is becoming more difficult as both the speed of government decision-making increases and the world in which we live becomes more complex.

Key risks to the effective implementation of Government decisions include the need to work across portfolios and jurisdictions, to manage multiple stakeholders, to deal with complex information technology challenges, to resolve complex stakeholder and procurement issues, and to manage the expectations of ministers, industry and the broader community. Other factors such as skills and resource shortages are having an impact.

Given the above, the early development of good quality implementation plans backed up by strong project management and governance is essential to the successful implementation of Government decisions.

In addition, to be successful, the Unit needs to have very strong relationships with its stakeholders – the Prime Minister, the Secretary to Cabinet, the PM&C Executive and Divisions, and departments and agencies.

Finally, early intervention when implementation problems emerge is critical. The Unit must help agencies identify solutions and make sure that Ministers and agencies are able to respond effectively to implementation difficulties. The Unit must also look for solutions which may be beyond agencies’ reach but which PM&C may be able to facilitate. This includes providing advice to Government on trends and issues, including systemic barriers to implementation and potential solutions

The work to date

Some of the Unit’s key activities over the past 4 years include:

• creating new procedures within the Cabinet and Budget processes to improve implementation planning and providing input to a large number of policy proposals;
• producing 13 quarterly traffic light reports and 6 six monthly reports to the National Security Committee;
• providing advice to departments and agencies on numerous implementation plans and conducting 5 implementation reviews;
• working with the Australian National Audit Office to produce a Better Practice Guide on the Implementation of Programme and Policy Initiatives;
• conducting numerous communication and outreach activities and establishing a database to track policy measures; and
• coordinating the preparation of the Prime Minister’s Charter letters to Ministers and strategic priorities for portfolios.

Top

What we will deliver

The Unit will have four main deliverables in 2007-08.  These are:

Deliverable 1:
The provision of advice and processes to ensure that the implementation aspects of policy initiatives are properly assessed and documented as part of the policy development process prior to decisions by Minister

Deliverable 2:
The provision of robust analysis, monitoring, follow-up and reporting of the implementation of key Government decisions (including early warning and assistance where possible).

Deliverable 3:
The provision of an outreach program which contributes to better implementation practices across portfolios.

Deliverable 4:
The provision of advice and support for Government in relation to the establishment and management of strategic priorities for portfolios.

The Unit will also be responsible for managing an exchange programme between senior PM&C officials and counterpart officers in central agencies within the Government of Indonesia. This programme is funded under the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Redevelopment and is aimed at strengthening the capacity of Indonesian government agencies, particularly in the area of policy development and implementation.

Top

Critical success factors

The Unit has identified ten factors that need to be satisfied for it to be successful.  These are as follows:

No. 1:
The Unit must be able to quickly and accurately identify policy initiatives that deserve monitoring and follow-up.

No. 2:
The Unit must ensure that implementation issues (eg objectives, scope, budget, timetable and risk) are thought about early and brought before Ministers.

No. 3:
The Unit must use its limited resources to focus on the implementation of Government decisions that are strategically important and difficult to deliver.

No. 4:
The Unit must engage with departments and agencies to understand and enhance implementation planning and monitoring.

No. 5:
The Unit must be able to provide the Prime Minister and other stakeholders with early warning when problems begin to emerge with the implementation of decisions.

No. 6:
The Unit must proactively work within PM&C and with departments and agencies to enhance the delivery of policy measures which run into problems.

No. 7:
The Unit’s stakeholders must be satisfied with the Unit’s outreach program and see it as useful.

No. 8:
The Unit must promote improved implementation structures and processes across government and the cross-fertilisation of ideas and expertise.

No. 9:
The Unit must effectively support the development and finalization of strategic priorities for portfolios.

No. 10:
The Unit’s capabilities must continue to be enhanced and its products and services refined through continuous improvement.

The Unit will measure its performance against these critical success factors during 2007-08.

Top

Strengths and weaknesses

The Unit sought feedback from its stakeholders about its strengths and weaknesses as part of preparing this Plan. The following is a summary of what stakeholders are keen to retain and where they want change.

Valued

• The Unit has strong support from the Prime Minister, his office and the PM&C Executive.
• The Unit’s processes and systems have been successfully integrated into the Cabinet and Budget processes.
• The Unit’s reporting framework is widely accepted and valued by the Government.
• The Unit is staffed with competent people who have developed strong working relationships with agencies.

Areas for change

• Agencies are keen to have more information about CIU reporting dates and processes so they may contribute more fully to them.
• Agencies want to be consulted in more detail about changes to their input during the preparation of traffic light reports.
• Agencies are keen to learn more about common trends and issues impacting on the implementation of policies and programmes across portfolios.
• Agencies are keen to have access to enhanced project management training and greater direct involvement with the CIU

To the extent that resources allow, the Unit will address the issues agencies have identified they would like to see changed.

Top

Our commitments to our stakeholders

The Unit’s commitments to its stakeholders are summarized in the following statements:

The Prime Minister and his office	We will provide him and his office with the best possible advice and support in relation to the implementation of key policy initiatives
The PM&C Executive	We will provide the Executive with high quality advice and support and use them to help achieve our vision
Our Reference Group	We will support our Reference Group and use them as a sounding board to achieve our vision
The PM&C Divisions	We will work closely with the Divisions and use their expertise to improve the planning, monitoring and implementation of key Government decisions
Departments and agencies	We will work closely with departments and agencies and support the role they have in implementing Government decisions and add value where possible
Our partner agencies	We will actively work with those agencies who have a role to play in improving the implementation of Government decisions
The public	We will be accountable and aware of the public interest in the implementation of Government decisions
Industry	We will work with relevant parts of industry to promote the effective implementation of Government decisions

Top

Risk and risk management

The Unit has identified a number of risks that it will need to manage during 2007-08. These are summarized as follows:

Internal risks

• The Unit fails to identify decisions that deserve monitoring, or fails to adequately follow-up with agencies in relation to identified decisions.
• The Unit fails to provide early warning on problems with a measure it is monitoring.
• The Unit is unable to perform at a satisfactory level due to a lack of expertise, resources, poor resource management and/or staff turnover.
• The Unit is unable to perform at a satisfactory level due to inadequate processes, systems and/or knowledge management.

External risks

• Key stakeholders lose confidence in the Unit due to any of the above factors.
• The Unit fails to provide stakeholders with clear guidance about its role and processes, including the objective of its traffic light reports, and what the CIU needs to meet its obligations.
• Stakeholders disagree with the Unit’s analysis of the status of measures and/or traffic light ratings.

The Unit will monitor these risks during 2007-08 and actively undertake mitigation strategies when appropriate. As part of this process the Unit will obtain regular feedback from its key stakeholders and undertake quarterly reviews of the quality and usefulness of its main reports, outreach programme and business systems and processes.

Learning and development

The Unit is committed to the ongoing development of its staff. As part of this process, the Unit will focus on the following three key areas in 2007-08:

• project and program management techniques through attendance at seminars and conferences and through specific training and discussions with experts in the public and private sectors;
• the enhancement of the Unit’s knowledge and capabilities in relation to monitoring, analysis and high level reporting; and
• the Unit’s capabilities in relation to the implementation of major, multi-jurisdictional, government decisions.

This will be supplemented by additional training to individual officers as part of their own personal development.

Top