Good practice Board reporting
Rebecca Collings
Good governance of any programme relies on putting in place regular and effective reporting. In this next phase of the Towns Fund programme, there will be many activities to coordinate, complex risks to manage, a need to ensure that Business Cases are on track and a requirement that the associated projects are still going to deliver the impacts and outcomes that the Town Deal Board envisaged.
As Boards evolve into their new responsibilities in the Business Case development stage,
they will need to be kept informed of progress being made, have visibility of risks and be able to focus on the issues and decisions which need their steer. Putting in place a standard Board Report, which covers the key headlines, gives assurance to Board members and enables the precious time that they have to be focused on the key matters at hand.
Board Reports can also be a useful way of encouraging good practice across the programme. Individual Project Leads or managers should be regularly reviewing and communicating upwards on key information about their projects:
How are they progressing against their project plan?
What are the current and emerging risks and how are these being mitigated?
Are they on track to deliver against the budget set for the project?
How will they ensure that the expected benefits of the project will be delivered and monitored?
Do they need any key decisions to be taken to enable the project to keep moving forward?
Ensuring that Project Leads provide a consistent and regular report on these questions can prompt them to step back and take stock. A culture of transparency is critical here. Nobody wants to be the bearer of bad tidings, but against the current UK backdrop of price inflation for construction materials and high demand for skills and supplies, it is to be expected that some projects will face headwinds to get to final delivery. Timely and honest reporting makes for a greater chance for correcting the course. Given the right information at the right time, your Board, in partnership with the Accountable Body, will be able to make clearer and quicker decisions when faced with challenges.
With all of this in mind, we have developed a simple, editable Board Report template which you can use to ensure that your Board stays sighted on the information which is most important for them to see. Providing such a report before meetings, as a key document for members to read in advance, will give them confidence about the management of the programme. It will also allow them to attend meetings fully informed and ready to ask the really important questions and, where appropriate, take necessary decisions to keep the programme on track. This in turn can help you to manage time and relationships more effectively, keeping everyone on the same page and focussed.
We can support you to introduce or tailor this report to meet the particular needs of your own Board. If you would like further assistance with developing your own report to the Town Deal Board, please contact your Town Coordinator.