Strategic performance is primarily concerned with outcomes. The outcomes of Partnership Victoria projects are usually defined in the form of benefits that will be realised over the life of the government's investment. It is good practice to regularly review, monitor and report on realising these benefits. In more recent projects, the benefits are usually documented in a benefit management plan, which includes the measures to be used as evidence that the benefits have been delivered. The benefit management plan also defines the dates the benefits are expected to be delivered, who is responsible for their delivery, and how they will be reported.
In many cases, the Partnership Victoria project will be only one element of the government's investment that is intended to deliver the anticipated benefits. In these circumstances, the contract director may not have the primary responsibility for measuring and reporting on benefits realisation. Nevertheless, the contract director is likely to have a role in contributing to the assessment of whether the benefits are being realised, and must therefore have in place the necessary reporting and monitoring processes.
The following table outlines the key performance issues that will need to be addressed at the strategic level.
Issues to be considered | Tools or processes |
Is the project still consistent with the service delivery strategy and/or asset management plan? Are the key stakeholders needs being met? Do the planned (and current) change initiatives contribute to the service strategy or change management strategy? Have priorities been established? Does the private party have the capability and capacity to deliver? Has the private party taken up opportunities to improve performance? What is and has been achieved? Are the high-level goals being met? What are the anticipated benefits and outcomes and are they as planned? Are the anticipated benefits and outcomes being realised quickly enough? What is the financial strength of the industry as a whole? What is the financial strength of any project guarantors? Is government policy in this area changing? | Investment logic map and benefits management and /or realisation plan -analysis of the original logic for the investment and the expected benefits Business case and request for proposal; interviews with procurement team - analysis of the business case and request for proposal, and interviews with the procurement team assist in understanding the anticipated benefits and commercial drivers of the project Gateway gate 6, benefits realisations reviews - gateway reviews (gate 6) can provide an independent perspective on the strategic performance and benefits realisation process Industry analysis - review of competitors, substitutes, customers, suppliers, government policy to understand key business drivers and risk (information can be obtained from Bloomberg/Australian Bureau of Statistics/ specialist broker reports/press/annual reports/talking to management) Strategic issue analysis - identify external environmental signals and examine the impacts on the project, for example, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis Macro-environmental changes - how are external factors likely to change in the future, over what time span and what is the potential impact on the project? E.g. economic conditions, demographic trends, technological changes, social/cultural factors, legal factors Product/market analysis - analysis of product and/or market growth opportunities Policy watch - identification of changes in the government party policy that may affect the project |