With every penny of our funding from volunteer donations and with demand on our services as high as ever, being the first charity to gain accreditation from the Association for Project Management gives our donors added confidence that we are spending their contributions wisely.
In order to be truly effective when delivering new projects, we needed a consistent approach to project management. So we came up with PlanIt Blue, a whole-system approach to managing new projects. Blue Cross is the world's oldest animal hospital and is based in Victoria, London, but the majority of our projects are run by various wings of the organisation at different locations across the country – which includes charity shops and kennels and catteries– so it was also important to us that any new approach didn't focus only on one team.
There are few direct project managers at Blue Cross, and with the majority of project work being completed by operational managers, it was critical that the process was straight forward and engaging. Following research and development. We also wanted to ensure it would inspire staff in a fun and informative way. For example, we developed a project management version of the Million Pound Drop gameshow and devised an exercise building a team of super heroes for a fantasy project to save the world.
We used an external project management professional to also ensure our programme was fit for purpose. It's also fully supported with a set of training tools ranging from quick reference to a more detailed user guide.
The accolade is normally the reserve of big corporates like EDF Energy and Rolls Royce, and despite jumping through hurdles to acheive it, we realise our programme cannot be rushed. To support people using PlanIt Blue, an impressive but steady programme of training and application to live on-going projects is in progress. It's further evidence that for us this is not a box ticking exercise, but is directly aligned to our core values and activities helping poorly, injured and abandoned pets.
An e-learning introduction to project management is currently under development and will be available to all Blue Cross staff to provide an accessible taster of PlanIt Blue. Meanwhile an in-house training programme is now being rolled out through workshops and training sessions. A core group of people with higher levels of involvement and influence over projects will also receive professional training that will benefit the teams that they're involved with.
Having the accreditation demonstrates both internally and to our outside partners, supporters and funders that we operate with a sound approach that has been externally endorsed by a highly regarded association. We also welcome the discipline of regular re-assessments to ensure that PlanIt Blue remains world class.
The Association for Project Management has been incredibly supportive in this process and we continue to learn an enormous amount through their involvement.
This is only the start of the project management journey for Blue Cross, but with PlanIt Blue the charity is confident of delivering projects that ultimately mean we can support, rehome and care for even more animals.
Richard Hollands is director of business assurance for Blue Cross
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To join the voluntary sector network, click here.
