MHC believes in the crucial role of governance for successful implementation and we have the skills and experience to make it happen. If you need help with this, or any other related service, please get in touch.
Effective governance is the cornerstone of successful policy and program implementation. Clear lines of accountability and engaged committee members are essential for turning well-designed plans into impactful outcomes.
Consider your governance structure for implementation phase very carefully. Set up the right structure and get the right stakeholders engaged and you are more likely to have a successful implementation.
Hooray! Your policy or program has been signed off by the Chief Executive and/or announced by the Minister.
It feels a bit like the last day of school – and it’s break time for the advisory and oversight structures set up to develop the policy or program. The bright shiny policy or program has been delivered, and the practical work of implementation is delegated down the line.
Sound familiar?
In a bygone era when the political landscape was more predictable, Bill Clinton famously said of a critical factor to win elections: “It’s the economy, stupid!”
When implementation initiatives fail, with hindsight, we could reason: “It was the governance, stupid!”
The implementation failed because an effective oversight structure was not established.
But “stupid” is the wrong word – this is a really common scenario.
Sometimes it can take months, or even years, to design a policy or program and, as I mentioned earlier, everyone involved can feel exhausted and like ‘school is out’ when approval is finally gained.
But it is crucial to keep the momentum going in the implementation phase.
When we put effective governance structures in place to support implementation we are more likely to get successful outcomes for systems and communities.
These structures are the equivalent of foundations of a building or a bridge. Without them, everything crumbles.
Implementation fail
Elements of a good governance structure for the implementation phase of a policy or project include:
For an example of implementation governance, see this Ministry of Health project that MHC is supporting Implementing an early phase clinical trials framework in NSW.
Even the best governance structure can fail if those involved are not engaged.
Look at the photos below, recognise these kinds of committee meetings?
Anyone want to join these committees?
A great way to continue to build momentum into the implementation phase is to bring new stakeholders who will bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm into your working groups. For continuity, it is also advisable to maintain some stakeholders who were involved in the policy or program design.
To keep committee members engaged, the secretariat needs to give clear and structured updates on progress and highlight issues for advice/resolution.
If short, focused agendas and status reports are developed, these can be used for a range of working group/advisory/oversight committees, and time at meetings can be spent resolving issues that inevitably arise through the implementation phase.