Commissioning for impact, think PRUB!, 2 May 2018, London

APM
London 2 May 2018
Phil Driver
OpenStrategies Ltd
1. PRUB-Thinking
2. PRUB-Accountability
3. OpenStrategies - Commissioning for impact
Copyright OpenStrategies Ltd 2018
1

Large multi-stakeholder strategies and processes
• Dozens of fiercely independent organisations with hundreds of
stakeholders and with no-one “in control” (no option but to be open
and collaborative)
• No-one can possibly understand it all (liberate collective wisdom)
• Many diverse, overlapping and often competing or conflicting
agendas (collective and local wisdom to guide collaboration)
• Need for ‘everyone’ to understand what’s going to be done
and why (simple common language)
• Human cognitive limits (mentally 7 +/-2; visually 15 +/-5) (succinct)
• Similar strategies in different cities (share and tailor)
2

Why most strategies make no difference
Many of the people who need to implement the strategy don’t understand
it due to the complexity of:
Strategy language
• Taxonomy (classification of strategy words)
– Outputs, outcomes, mission, goal, objectives, framework, vision, status, cross-cutting-themes,
aspirations, strategies, plans, collaboration, cooperation, competition, values, structures, KPIs,
tasks, accountabilities, responsibilities, principles, tactics, actions, directions, issues, factors,
priorities, benefits, impacts, purpose, capacity, capabilities, forecasts, scenarios, drivers-for-
change, data, information, knowledge, wisdom…. and sometimes ‘implementation’
• Syntax (rules for constructing strategy ‘sentences’)
– Do goals create objectives or do objectives create goals?....
• Semantics (meaning of strategies)
3

What should strategies do?
Strategies should guide the improvement of what
organisations actually do
So what do organisations actually do?
4

Create assets & enable people to Use assets to create Benefits
5
P R U B

6
Happy customersbecause they
have done and achieved what
they wanted to doand achieve
Sustainablymanufacture,
distribute andmarket our
company’snew product
Our company’s new product
availableto customers
together withrelevant
productmarketing
information
Customers buy anduse our
company’snew productto do
& achieve whatthey want
Our companyissustainably
profitable
Projects Results Uses Benefits
Build asheltered,safe
cycleway from the housing
estate to theschool
A sheltered, safe cycleway is in
place fromthe housing estate
to the school
Children ride toschool and
home again onthesafe and
sheltered cycleway
Children are safe when
travelling
Two simple example SubStrategies

Implementation
7
P R U B
Planning

Orphan Results
8
PROJECTS RESULTS USES BENEFITS
Adopted Orphan
Result
PROJECT 2 RESULT 2 USES BENEFITS
PROJECT 1 RESULT 1
Abandoned
Orphan Result
PROJECT RESULT

Projects Results Uses Benefits
Our company
designs new
products and
services based on
previous market
research with end
users
Designs for new
products and
services ready to
be implemented
(Orphan Result)
We create the
new products and
services, make
them readily
available and
promote them to
users (Adopting
Projects)
New products and
services available
to, and known
about, by end
users
Benefits to end
users:
1. Economic
2. Environmental
3. Social
4. Cultural
End users
purchase and use
the new products
and services
Our company is
sustainably profitable
company
An example SubStrategy with an Orphan Result

There are no short-cuts…to be effective…
Projects must lead to Results
which must lead to Uses
which must lead to Benefits
10

Only Uses create Benefits
So what does that mean for:
• Benefits Realisation?
• Outcomes-based Accountability?
11

• 4 types of accountability:
–Project efficiency
–Result effectiveness
–Use efficiency
–Benefit effectiveness
12
PRUB-Accountability

Efficiency & effectiveness accountabilities
13
Project
Efficiency
Result
Effectiveness
Use
Efficiency
Benefit
Effectiveness

• 4 levels of accountability
– Identify
– Value and prioritise
– Specify
– Implement
• ‘Default ownership’ of these 16 accountabilities?
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PRUB-Accountability

PRUB Accountability?
Accountabilities for
Effectiveness and
Efficiency (E&E)
Projects-
Efficiency
Results-
Effectiveness
Uses-
Efficiency
Benefits-
Effectiveness
Identify E&E Who? Who? Who? Who?
Value & Prioritise E&E Who? Who? Who? Who?
Specify E&E Who? Who? Who? Who?
Implement, Performance
Manage & Confirm
actual E&E
Who? Who? Who? Who?
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PRUB Accountability – swimming pool example
P: Build
swimming
pool (Project
Efficiency)
R: Swimming
pool (Result
Effectiveness)
U: children use
swimming
pool (Use
Efficiency)
B: healthier
children (Benefit
Effectiveness)
Identify Cost/timing A swimming pool Hoped-for:
children swimming
in the pool
Healthier children
Value &
prioritise
Ideal $s/timeline Size; materials;
colour; other
necessary
infrastructure
Hoped-for:
swimming
lessons, sports,
recreation
Fitter (blood
tests?); less
obesity (BMI
measurements?)
Specify Practical
$s/timeline
Exactly what
size/materials etc
will be achieved
When, how often,
who, why are
children using the
pool?
Specify what can
realistically be
measured
Implement Assets being
created
Assets that
conform to
specifications
Children using the
pool as hoped
Children are
demonstrably
healthier
16

PRUB Accountability
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Accountabilities for
Effectiveness and
Efficiency (E&E)
P=Purchaser
S=Supplier
Project-Efficiency
(running Projects
‘right’)
Result-
Effectiveness (the
right Result)
Use-Efficiency
(Uses happening
‘right’)
Benefit-
Effectiveness (the
right Benefits)
Identify desired Efficiency
and Effectiveness
P P P P
Value & Prioritise desired
Efficiency and
Effectiveness
P P P P
Specify required Efficiency
and Effectiveness
S+P S+P P P
Implement, Performance
Manage & Confirm actual
Efficiency and
Effectiveness
S S P P
Controlled by supplier Influenced by ……?

1. Only Uses create Benefits
2. Project managers cannot ‘realise Benefits’ or be held directly
accountable for outcomes
3. However, if project managers run the right Projects to
produce the right (necessary and sufficient) Results then they
will influence the Uses and Benefits
4. So project managers must be contracted – by purchasers - to
produce the right Results!
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“Benefits realisation”? Yeah, nah…

• “building services around the user”
The UK Public Sector concept of Commissioning
Jonathan Dutton, Managing Director, CIPS Australasia
and Helen Alder, CIPS UK
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Commissioning (UK model)

Use PRUB-thinking to seamlessly:
1. Understand Uses and Benefits: (Engage with end-users)
2. Understand Projects and Results: (Engage with service-suppliers)
3. Develop and Validate strategies: (Use Evidence to compellingly Link Projects & Results
to Uses & Benefits)
4. Develop business cases funding applications: (Prove it’s ‘worth-it’)
5. Make funding decisions: (Select the best investments)
6. Create Benefits-focused contracts: (Create ‘PRUB-accountable’ contracts)
7. Implement strategies and contracts: (Create assets & enable users to Use them to
create Benefits)
8. Monitor and manage performance: (PRUB-Accountability)
9. Review and update PRUB-strategies: (Respond to changing circumstances)
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Commissioning (The OpenStrategies model)

Summary
1. PRUB-Thinking
2. PRUB-Accountability
3. OpenStrategies: Commissioning for Impact
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1. One day introductory courses
1. London, 12 Bloomsbury Sq Wednesday 2nd May
2. Birmingham, Moseley Centre 8th May (merron@newrealities.co.uk)
2. APM evening events
1. 1 Park Crescent London Wednesday 2nd May
2. Newcastle University Wednesday 9th May
(Rebecca.Casey@newcastle.ac.uk)
3. Masters in Information Technology,
1. Newcastle University, 9th May (Rebecca.Casey@newcastle.ac.uk)
Plus university courses in Germany
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UK courses and events

For more information
Dr Phil Driver
Visiting lecturer, Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Visiting lecturer, Newcastle University, UK
Adjunct Senior Fellow, Canterbury University, New Zealand
CEO, OpenStrategies Ltd
Author: “Validating Strategies – linking Projects and Results to Uses and Benefits”
http://www.gowerpublishing.com/isbn/9781472427816
Author, “OpenStrategies – Commissioning for Impact” (to be published in 2018)
www.openstrategies.com
phil@openstrategies.com
+64 (0)21 0236 5861
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