From Regional Knowledge Resource Kit

Return to Stage 5 - Implementation
Return to "Developing an Information and Knowledge Strategy" Quick Links Page

Background

This workshop follows the How to review progress workshop sessions.

Facilitation level

A basic level of facilitation skill is required to lead this workshop session.

Objective

To decide and plan new projects and small actions for the next three to six months.

Materials

• Whiteboard and markers.
• Butchers paper templates (see "Directions" section below).

Time

3 hours (or if time is short, there is an option in the "Variations" section below that can shorten it to 1 hour).

Directions

1. Write up potential initiatives on the whiteboard

In the previous How to review progress workshop session, table groups documented which Information and Knowledge Strategy actions they thought should be dropped, changed or created. Now, ask people to use this information to call out potential initatives for the region for the next three to six months. Write these up on the top half of the whiteboard. Don't order them - just write them up as they come.

2. Separate the projects and the small actions

1. Review the potential initiatives on the whiteboard. Discuss with participants which of the initiatives are projects and which are small actions.
   • Projects are larger activities that require detailed planning, funding and implementation e.g. setting up a region intranet or establishing communities of practice.
   • Small actions are initiatives that any staff member or group of staff members could implement off their own bat for improvement e.g. organising lunch-time talks.
2. As the discussion progresses, write P (for project) or S (for small action) next to each of the potential initiatives.
3. At the end of the discussion, leave the projects (marked with a P) in the top part of the whiteboard and transfer the small actions (marked with an S) to the lower part of the whiteboard, so that you end up with a row of projects and a row of small actions under each heading objective.

3. Decide up to three key projects

Now that the projects have been identified conduct a voting exercise to determine the top three priority projects to commence work on:

1. Hand a sheet of A4 paper to each participant and ask them to write down what they think are the top three projects that the region should start to be work on immediately.
2. Once the participants have written down their choices, step through each project on the white board and ask participants to put up their hand if they had that project as one of their top three. Tally the votes as you go.
3. Add up the votes and identify the top three choices by writing 1, 2 and 3 in large numbers in circles next to those choices,
4. Then facilitate a discussion aimed at ensuring that participants are in support of the top choices. Ask:
   • How does everyone feel about these projects as the immediate priority for our Information and Knowledge Strategy?
   • Can we handle all three projects at this time? Would just two projects (or even just one project) be more achievable?

4. Design the key projects

1. Divide the participants into three groups.
2. Hand out butchers paper and pens to each group.
3. Ask each group to pick one of the three priority projects from the whiteboard, in consultation with the other groups to avoid double-up.
4. Put up the project design template and ask each group to use it as a guide to prepare a plan for their priority project. The project design template is a sheet of butcher's paper divided into five parts with the following headings and questions as prompters or guides:
   • Purpose/Guiding Principles
     • Why is this being done? What are we trying to achieve with this project?
     • What are the key standards to hold in making decisions and acting on this project? What rules do we play by?
   • Successful Outcome
     • What would it be like if it were totally successful? How would I know?
     • What would that success look or feel like for the stakeholders?
   • Brainstorming
     • Conduct a mini brainstorming session with the group - capturing all ideas is the aim here.
     • What are all the things that occur to you about this? What is the current reality? What do I know? What do we not know? What ought we consider? What haven't we considered? etc.
     • Be complete, open, non-judgemental and resist critical judgement.
     • Wikipedia has a good entry on brainstorming.
   • Organising
     • Identify components (sub-projects), sequences, and/or priorities.
     • What needs to happen to make the whole thing happen?
     • Create outlines, bulleted lists, or organising charts, as needed for review and control
   • Next actions
     • Determine next actions. What should be done next, and who will do it?
     • If more planning is required, determine the next action to get that to happen.

5. Improve the project plans

When all the tables have created a first cut of their project plan, instruct them to appoint a table visitor who will take the group's project plan to the other tables in the room.

1. Send the visitors to the next table in a clockwise direction.
2. The visitor explains their group's project to the new table and requests feedback.
3. New ideas are added to the butcher's paper.
4. After about 15 minutes or when you can see all the feedback has been given, move the visitor to the next table.

This round-robin approach ensures everyone is aware of all the projects under design and has an opportunity to contribute their ideas.

6. Review responsibilities for the continuous review, planning and improvement process

1. Ask participants to identify a small group of managers and senior staff that will now review the continuous review, planning and improvement process (while this is happening the remaining participants will look at the small actions - see below).
2. Ask the continuous review, planning and improvement group to review and if necessary update:
   • The lead person who will coordinate and oversee the implementation of the Information and Knowledge Strategy?
   • Who will assist the lead person and also act as an understudy to the lead person, so that the assistant is able to take on the role of coordinating and overseeing strategy implementation if this is required?

Ask the continuous review, planning and improvement group to then decide:

1. • Who will revise the Information and Knowledge Strategy using the Information and Knowledge Strategy template ? Note that the Strategy is very dynamic - when each three- to six-monthly review is carried out the Strategy will be substantially revised.
   • The date for the next continuous review, planning and improvement workshop? This should be between three and six months after the current workshop.
2. Ask the continuous improvement group to also record the remaining projects (not the small actions) that were identified on the whiteboard (i.e. the other projects that weren't in the top three). These projects will be considered in the next three- to six-monthly review.
3. At the end of this session, the continuous planning group presents their outcomes back to the main group (at the same time as the plans for the small actions are presented back to the group - see below).

7. Taking forward the small actions

This step is carried out at the same time as the Designing the continuous improvement implementation process step above.

1. Give the remaining tables in the room sheets of butchers paper.
2. Ask each group to progressively select each of the small actions from the whiteboard and spend a few minutes preparing a brief implementation plan for it. Each sheet of butchers paper is to have five columns with the following headings:
   • The action to be done.
   • Who is responsible for ensuring the action is completed.
   • The things they (not someone else) are going to do to help implement the action.
   • The date the action will be completed.
   • A description of how the group will know the action has been completed.
3. Each group will put a separate row on their butchers paper for each action they select.
4. Ask each group to tick each action they progressively select on the whiteboard so that the groups don't accidentally double-up.
5. At the end of this session, the small action planning group present their outcomes back to the main group (at the same time as the outcomes of the continuous improvement planning are presented back to the group - see above).

8. Next workshop

At the end of the workshop, participants should be reminded that they will be participating in another review workshop in three to six months time.

9. Implement the projects and small actions

The responsible senior staff members mentor and encourage staff in implementing the projects and small actions.

Variations

If the time available for your workshop is short, the following alternative process for steps 4, 5, 6 and 7 can be implemented. It involves organising for some tasks to be carried out after rather than during the workshop.

4. Task groups to arrange meetings to design the key projects

1. Divide the participants into three groups. One of the groups needs to comprise the organisation's managers and senior staff.
2. Ask each group to pick one of the three priority projects from the whiteboard, in consultation with the other groups to avoid double-up.
3. Ask each group to arrange a group meeting within the next two weeks where they will prepare a plan for their priority project (in these meetings they will also work on some of the small actions, as shown in step 5 below).
4. Ask the groups to forward you the draft project plans at the end of the two weeks.
5. Give each group a copy of the project design template and ask each group to use it as a guide to prepare the plan for their priority project. The project design template is a sheet of butcher's paper divided into five parts with the following headings and questions as prompters or guides:
   • Purpose/Guiding Principles
     • Why is this being done? What are we trying to achieve with this project?
     • What are the key standards to hold in making decisions and acting on this project? What rules do we play by?
   • Successful Outcome
     • What would it be like if it were totally successful? How would I know?
     • What would that success look or feel like for the stakeholders?
   • Brainstorming
     • Conduct a mini brainstorming session with the group - capturing all ideas is the aim here.
     • What are all the things that occur to you about this? What is the current reality? What do I know? What do we not know? What ought we consider? What haven't we considered? etc.
     • Be complete, open, non-judgemental and resist critical judgement.
     • Wikipedia has a good entry on brainstorming.
   • Organising
     • Identify components (sub-projects), sequences, and/or priorities.
     • What needs to happen to make the whole thing happen?
     • Create outlines, bulleted lists, or organising charts, as needed for review and control
   • Next actions
     • Determine next actions. What should be done next, and who will do it?
     • If more planning is required, determine the next action to get that to happen.

5. Review responsibilities for the continuous review, planning and improvement process

1. Ask the group that comprises managers and senior staff to now review the continuous review, planning and improvement process (while this is happening the remaining groups will look at the small actions - see below).
2. Ask the continuous review, planning and improvement group to review and if necessary update:
   • The lead person who will coordinate and oversee the implementation of the Information and Knowledge Strategy?
   • Who will assist the lead person and also act as an understudy to the lead person, so that the assistant is able to take on the role of coordinating and overseeing strategy implementation if this is required?

Ask the continuous review, planning and improvement group to then decide:

1. • Who will revise the Information and Knowledge Strategy using the Information and Knowledge Strategy template ? Note that the Strategy is very dynamic - when each three- to six-monthly review is carried out the Strategy will be substantially revised.
   • The date for the next continuous review, planning and improvement workshop? This should be between three and six months after the current workshop.
2. Ask the continuous improvement group to also record the remaining projects (not the small actions) that were identified on the whiteboard (i.e. the other projects that weren't in the top three). These projects will be considered in the next three- to six-monthly review.
3. At the end of this session, the continuous planning group presents their outcomes back to the main group (at the same time as the plans for the small actions are presented back to the group - see below).

6. Take forward the small actions

1. Ask each of the remaining groups to select a proportion of the small actions from the whiteboard, in consultation with the other groups to both prevent double-up and ensure that every one of the small actions is addressed.
2. Ask each group to include in their project planning meeting (from step 4 above) the preparation of a brief implementation plan for each of the small actions they have selected.
3. Ask the groups to forward you the small action implementation plans at the end of the two weeks (together with the project plans from step 4 above).
4. The small action implementation plans are to do be written on a sheet of butchers paper which is to have five columns with the following headings:
   • The action to be done.
   • Who is responsible for ensuring the action is completed.
   • The things they (not someone else) are going to do to help implement the action.
   • The date the action will be completed.
   • A description of how the group will know the action has been completed.
5. Each group will put a separate row on their butchers paper for each action they selected.

7. Circulate, review and improve the project plans and small action implementation plans

1. After two weeks, you will receive the project plans and small action implementation action plans from each of the groups - you may need to send out reminders to make sure you get them all.
2. Transfer the information from the butchers paper to tables in a Microsoft Word document. This could either be a stand-alone action plan to accompany your Information and Knowledge Strategy, or a formal action plan amendment to your Information and Knowledge Strategy.
3. Circulate the action plan to all workshop participants for review and comment over a 1-week period.
4. Revise the action plan from the comments received, and circulate it to the Board, managers and staff of your region.

Return to Stage 5 - Implementation
Return to "Developing an Information and Knowledge Strategy" Quick Links Page