A new way of “planning, prioritising, and managing major projects” has been backed by the States.
Policy and Resources said the new ‘pipeline’ approach would put more emphasis on “good planning at an early stage” and it will also allow the priority list to change as needed.
Despite concerns being raised by the Scrutiny committee that the effectiveness of the new method of planning and delivering projects will ultimately depend on other factors including ‘clear financial discipline’, and ‘appropriate mechanisms to preserve transparency’, most deputies backed the plan – including most of Scrutiny.
Only deputies Hayley Camp and David Goy voted against.
Presenting its plans last month, P&R said the new ‘pipeline’ approach would put more emphasis on “good planning at an early stage”.
The ‘pipeline’ will be variable with items moving up and down the priority list as things change.
P&R said this approach will avoid problems caused by the States committing money too soon, allowing departments to carry out early planning and development work without the States committing to the actual delivery of any project until everything has been assessed.
The committee believes this new method will also ensure the States take account of wider financial pressures when setting the major projects portfolio.
Ultimately it will mean funding is allocated to major projects alongside the Medium‑Term Financial Plan while also taking account of wider – current and future – financial pressures.
The current Major Projects Portfolio already has a pipeline – but P&R says the new approach will offer more flexibility through that pipeline.
At the moment capital projects are divided into two categories – those labelled for ‘Delivery’ and those in the ‘Pipeline’.
Projects that are on the ‘Delivery’ list have been approved for funding and are moving through detailed planning and delivery. Current examples would include projects like the new Les Ozouets Campus and the ongoing development work at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.
Projects currently in the ‘Pipeline’ include those that may be needed in the future but have not yet been approved for significant planning work or delivery. These projects do not currently have funding attached to them. Current examples would include the Dairy – which is widely acknowledged to need modernising and upgrading but has not yet been approved for funding.
Under the current system major capital projects can only be added to the ‘to do list’ at the start of a new political term when the States sets out its priorities for the coming four years.
P&R says this makes it harder to respond to new or changing needs and circumstances. Its new plan instead offers a new prioritisation approach under three distinct stages – Proposal Development, Pipeline, and Delivery.
P&R says this will help staff identify risks and costs earlier and manage any arising. issues more effectively.
Once a project reaches the pipeline it will be in the flexible priority list that will see projects moved up and down as circumstances change.
P&R says the “strengthened Pipeline creates a clear and structured way for projects to carry out early planning work, without committing money for delivery too early”.
“In particular, projects will not be expected to provide firm cost estimates until they are well developed and ready to be considered for the Delivery stage of the Portfolio.”
P&R says this is an important point as it will address a long‑standing problem where early cost estimates were produced before projects were properly planned, and those early figures then became difficult to change.
“By waiting until projects are better defined, the revised approach leads to cost information that is more reliable, realistic, and easier to compare when decisions are made.
“More generally, the revised approach gives decision‑makers better information, helps risks and links between projects to be identified earlier, allows new proposals to come forward more smoothly over time, and ensures that people and funding are only committed once projects are ready.”
The Delivery stage is the final part of the process and will see projects being signed off for completion.
The Pipeline
50 projects have already been assessed for inclusion in the new – strengthened and more flexible – pipeline – with 26 selected.
The projects are listed alphabetically.
They’ve been chosen based on their scores against agreed assessment criteria including around need, cost, and viability.
The 26 projects in the pipeline all scored the highest points against the agreed assessment criteria. Further project proposals will be added to the pipeline on an ongoing basis, said P&R, if they meet the agreed prioritisation criteria.