AIM Success Guide Success Guide Successfully Managing Capital Projects Written by Bill Ferris OBE DL, with thanks to Artelia Based on the experience of the AIM Biffa Award National Heritage Landmark Partnership Scheme Projects Success Guide Successfully Managing Capital Projects Written by Bill Ferris OBE DL, with thanks to Artelia Based on the experience of the AIM Biffa Award National Heritage Landmark Partnership Scheme Projects Front cover image: Repointing at Newman Brothers Coffin Works, Birmingham 3 AIM Biffa Award National Heritage Landmark Partnership Scheme Awarded 2012 - 2015 This guide has been written to share learning from the AIM Biffa Award National Heritage Landmark Partnership Scheme. This scheme provided £1.5million to rescue, restore or bring into use, nationally significant industrial heritage. Capital projects that involve money donated by Biffa Group Ltd heritage sites and buildings, through the Landfill Communities frequently face unexpected Fund. challenges and more uncertainty than normal projects. Managing The Royal Society of Wildlife these, alongside all the ‘normal’ Trusts has more than 20 years of challenges of a capital project is a experience in managing social and significant undertaking. environmental grant programmes totalling over £250 million and The organisations supported by proven successes working with AIM Biffa Award learnt a great and empowering people to make deal about project management in significant environmental and the course of their work and this societal impacts across the UK. guide shares some of that learning. In 1997 Biffa Group Ltd decided to donate landfill tax credits to RSWT About Biffa Award to administer under the fund name Biffa Award. To date, Biffa Award Since 1997, Biffa Award has has awarded grants totalling more awarded grants totalling more than than £156 million to thousands of £156 million to thousands of worthwhile projects across the worthwhile community and country. environmental projects across the UK. The programme administers Picture courtesy of Newman Brothers Coffin Works Site Team meeting, AIM Biffa Award funded project at the Coffin Works AIM Biffa Award National Heritage Landmark Partnership Scheme In 2011, AIM entered into a 3-year funding partnership with Biffa Award which provided a £1.5m investment into independent museums and industrial heritage sites across the UK. The Scheme focused on landmark industrial heritage sites, relating to key industries including mining, textile manufacture, shipbuilding, metal processing, chemical industries, defence, farming and technologies such as power generation and communication. The heritage projects that the funding supported were: Newman Brothers Coffin Brooklands Museum Works Stratospheric Chamber Coffin Works Learning and Restoration & Interpretation Interpretation Project £120,000 £44,676 Ironbridge Gorge National Mining Museum Museums of Scotland Bedlam Furnaces - Icon of The National Mining Industry Memorial £30,099 £120,000 The Historic Dockyard Underfall Yard Chatham Revealing the story of Chatham Dockyard World Hydraulic Power Heritage Discovery Centre £120,000 £ 117,500 London Museum of Brunel Museum Water and Steam Opening up Brunel's Shaft Project Aquarius – £120,000 Babcock Room £80,364 Cromford Mills Bursledon Brickworks Arkwright: Father of the The Museum of Bricks & Factory System Brickmaking £112,500 Reinstating the Second Steam Engine £82,000 ss Great Britain The Postal Museum The Restoration of the Mail Rail: The Birth of the Grade II* listed 'Brunel's' Underground Postal Drawing Office Railway £117,180 £69,075 National Waterways Woodhorn Museum Museum Ellesmere Port Colliery Winding House From Port to Powerhouse New Visitor Access & A Window on the World Interpretation £119,718 £35,000 Middleport Pottery Bringing the William Boulton Steam Engine at Middleport Pottery Back to Life £120,000 AIM Success Guide 6 Successfully Managing Capital Projects Contents 1. Introduction 2. Getting Ready for Your Project 3. Planning Your Project 4. Appointing the External Project Team 5. Delivering Your Project Appendix – Service Briefs, Procurement, Due Diligence and Contracts 1. Introduction is as important as every other part of the work of the organisation. The Guide can only ever be So, you’ve raised the money, you an overview and an outline Capital projects are exhilarating, for Trustees and know what you want to do; now you’ve just got to do it! exhausting, exciting, demanding management boards. You and all consuming! For most might want to read this organisations the project is a before embarking on a Obvious, but potentially daunting and a critical moment in means to an end not an end in capital projects, in order to itself. be prepared for the breadth determining the successful of considerations and again outcome of a project. In reality this delivery part of the process should Alongside delivering the capital when you know your project project you will be researching and is going to go ahead. have been well thought through long before the funding is in place. preparing your collections for new exhibitions, fundraising, developing Delivering successful projects is a new marketing materials, planning serious business and one that, new ways of delivering your unsurprisingly, most museum and operations etc. so that when the heritage organisations are not contractors move out, the “home really set up to deal with, despite team” is ready to make a success the probably relevant and wide of the finished project. ranging knowledge held within trustees, staff or volunteers. Doing all of this, and possibly keeping your museum open Why would they be? Such throughout, is extremely organisations deliver museum demanding - make sure you will services as “the day job” and have the people and budgets you capital projects are one off events, need to make a success of your so planning how the organisation completed project. will resource and deliver a project 7 AIM Success Guide 2. Getting Ready for Your know why the dog is barking and Project how to respond as its leader! Being a Good Client Fundamental attributes of a ‘a good client’: You are the client for your capital project and it is your project, not ▪ Leadership and vision the funder’s, the project manager’s, architect’s or any other of the ▪ Clarity of project purposes and consistency of your success cri- designers’ or consultants’ who you TIP employ. teria ▪ Clear lines of responsibility and Planning and resourcing You employ professionals to help authority for post capital project provide services beyond your operations should be a experience or capacity and you ▪ Engagement and Availability primary focus for delegate such services to them organisations and is often but…you must understand the ▪ Approachable and able to ac- under resourced as boundary between delegation and cept advice for consideration projects take over abrogation of responsibility. ▪ Decisiveness and clear decision As client you should build an making protocols excellent relationship with all the project consultants, contractors ▪ Good systems especially for rap- and your own directly involved id decision making team members. It should be honest, transparent, creative, ▪ Commitment to excellent com- communicative and quick - munications recognising that your organisation is the lead. ▪ Enthusiasm to build a sense of team and common goal The old adage of “not buying a dog and barking yourself” is true ▪ Plans for what will happen after but most successful dog owners the project is finished will tell you that the dog knows who the boss is and will do anything for them. So no need to bark but plenty of need to Picture courtesy of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust AIM Success Guide 8 The Journey back to them to ensure you are delivering what you set out to You’re now about to set off on a deliver. linear journey and the first three steps of that journey are critical to ▪ Have a map - Plan your journey success, in that you: and think about what could get in the way of reaching your des- ▪ Know where you want to go – tination Your Vision ▪ Why you are going to your new The rest will fall in to place… destination -- Determine your success criteria so you and the project team can keep referring PROCURE PROCURE Procure the ProcureTHE the OPERATE Success Operate & Vision SUCCESS Plan ProfessionalTHE Design Works and HandoverHAND Evaluate VISION Criteria PLAN DESIGN WORKS Maintain& EVALUATE CRITERIA PROTeam BuildAND it OVER MAINTAIN TEAM BUILD IT Remember that your vision must Usually an organisation will appoint be about what you want to achieve, a key person to lead the project. which will only be possible through They might be called the Project the capital project you are going to Director or Internal/Client Project undertake. The vision should not Manager, to distinguish them from be to have a building for a a consultant project manager. building’s sake, but about the difference that space will make to They may be someone who was how effectively you can deliver already employed by the your purpose. organisation and who may not have led a major project before Client Project Team Structure (possibly continuing their normal role alongside the project manager Early on in the project you need to role, though how demanding this set up a client project team (the can be should not be under- “home team” of staff, trustees and estimated). volunteer’s directly engaged in the projects planning and delivery) so Sometimes a new member of staff that the roles and responsibilities of is recruited. those within your organisation who are working on your project are During the project there will be lots clear. of key decisions to be made - whether they are about signing off A degree of formality to this is the brief, design, appointment of necessary for a large capital consultants and contractors, project, as there are potentially spending money or making both emotive and high-risk changes. decisions to be made as the project develops. 9 AIM Success Guide It is important to be clear on how much decision-making is delegated and what needs to be decided by Case Study the trustees or other senior members of the organisation.