Sub-questions

If the organisation has attempted similar programmes, has it avoided repeating any mistakes made in those programmes?

Is there evidence of learning from programme performance information?

What caused deviations from plan (over/under-runs)? Are these likely to re-occur/knock-on in subsequent stages?

Essential evidence

Evaluation strategy/plans.

Evaluation reports.

Gateway 5.

Lessons learned - examples from our studies

Our 2018 report on Developing new care models through NHS vanguards (see Q2) recommended that NHS England should strengthen its approach to transformation, by setting out what it had learned from the vanguard programme and that the Department of Health & Social Care and NHS England should consider setting out clear plans for transforming NHS services over the long term. We found that although NHS England coordinated the development of local vanguards, it did not set clear national objectives or state how new care models would be spread. Before the vanguard programme, the NHS had introduced several other short-lived initiatives to build integrated health and social care services. The timeframe for the vanguard programme funding was three years, although many stakeholders consider that such a transformation often takes 10 years or longer to be delivered successfully. The NAO has seen a pattern of initiatives being continually folded into a successor initiative, sometimes before their objectives are fully achieved.

Our 2015 report Reform of the rail franchising programme examined whether the Department for Transport (DfT) had improved its management of its rail franchising programme since it had had to cancel its competition for the InterCity West Coast franchise in 2012. We looked at whether DfT had applied the recommendations from reports by the NAO and others after 2012. We concluded that DfT had improved its management of its rail franchising programme, and that the results of the more recent franchise competitions indicated that, if managed effectively, returns to the taxpayer could be higher than in the past. DfT had established a team to focus on franchise letting and management; improved the transparency, consistency and clarity of information provided to bidders and the public; and strengthened the assurance and governance of franchising. To continue to improve the programme, DfT had started to apply lessons learned from completed competitions and feedback from bidders.

Other relevant reports

Rolling out Universal Credit (paragraph 6)

The Equipment Plan 2018 to 2028 (paragraph 9)

E20: renewing the Eastenders set (paragraph 17)