Project Objectives
The Scheme will be approved under appropriate legislation, however in order that it is designed and delivered it is first most a project. Such that a project can be well delivered it is essential that it has a clear ‘scope of works’ so that those involved in the project know exactly what they are working to achieve. There are many, famous, examples of major projects where lack of clarity and other project failures have led to either failure, or ignominy which is often accompanied by major cost increases lived within a hostile media environment.
This project is being advanced under the PRINCE2 Project Management System so that East Lothian Council can apply a clear, logical, step-by-step process for advancing the project. One part of that process is in clearly defining the project through reports prepared by the Project Team and approved by its Project Board. For this project which aspires to reduce the flood risk to a large, historic, urban settlement with many sources of flood risk: there are many approaches that might be feasible in reducing that flood risk. This assessment of possible approaches to flood risk reduction (or ‘options’) is undertaken during Project Stage 3 – The Option Appraisal Process (OAP). For more information on the OAP, which concluded with the determination of the ‘Preferred Scheme’ please look at the website’s Preferred Scheme page.
For this project it may be considered that up until the Scheme is approved at the end of Stage 5 (Statutory Approvals) that there is no fixed ‘scope of works’ as the concepts and designs are evolving through a partnership of consultation and the emerging technical / environmental etc. work from early stage design. Through these stages the advancement of the project is therefore being steered relative to a set of defined ‘project objectives’.
How has the Scheme set its Project Objectives?
During Stage 1 (Establishment of the Project) East Lothian Council recognised that the delivery of any flood protection scheme would be complex and challenging. It determined to advance the project under the PRINCE2 Project Management System and set-up a Project Board. For more information on the origin and beginning of the project please look at the website’s Project Background page.
During Stage 1, the Project Board oversaw and then approved a bespoke set of project objectives for this Scheme. The outcome of this work was captured in a stand-alone report. To view that report please click here.
What are the project objectives?
There are 33 project objectives which have been grouped into seven categories. They are the Project Boards best effort at defining the aspirations and constraints that the emerging project should be steered against. The complete list of objectives, against their group, can be seen on the slideshow below:
How will the project achieve all of these objectives?
The project objectives may be considered to be the ‘aspirations’ or ‘targets’ that the Scheme is hoping to achieve. It is however recognised that a flood protection scheme is delivered through a complex civil engineering project and one that will interface with almost every existing layer of the built or natural environment – wherever its flood risk reduction options are delivered. In such a situation it is inevitable that it will never be possible to satisfy everyone. The perceptions, aspirations and experiences of individual people are endless, and therefore their response to any Scheme design will be equally varied. East Lothian Council wants to develop this project in consultation with its stakeholders, however ultimately the Council must make a judgement as to what is right and in the best interest of the many. The project objectives are one tool in allowing it achieve this.
It is recognised that it is highly probable that not all project objectives will either be achieved or satisfactorily achieved. Rather, it is considered that the Scheme will ultimately be the one which best satisfies against these often contradictory aspirations.
At the end of Stage 3 (Options Appraisal Process) and Stage 4 (Outline Design) the emerging scheme will be assessed against the project objectives to gauge progress.
Ultimately, the ‘Proposed Scheme’ will be published under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 (the FRM), and presented to a full meeting of East Lothian Council for approval. At that point these legislative processes will supersede the ‘Project Objectives’. If the Scheme is approved then from that point it has a fixed ‘scope of works’ and thereafter delivery becomes focused on construction stage delivery against that fixed scope. For more information on Scheme approval please look at the website’s Statutory Approvals page.
Is it possible for the project objectives to change?
The list of objectives is not considered to be exhaustive, or absolutely fixed. The project will be delivered over a decade and through a process of consultation. The ‘Project Objectives’ will therefore periodically be reviewed and refreshed / renewed, as appropriate. Some objective may be removed, some modified, and / or new objectives added.
The ‘Project Objectives’ are currently under review. It has been some time since they were last reviewed – a Preferred Scheme may have been identified, but there have been: changes in legislation; many new inputs from consultation with stakeholders; substantial advances in the scale and quality of the project’s technical / environmental datasets etc. that need to be considered against the objectives. This process of review is also linked to the early Outline Design consultation with regulatory and community groups during late 2021.
Any update to the ‘Project Objectives’ will be confirmed on this page, and it is expected that the current review will conclude in January 2022 with an update provided here in February 2022.