Abstract:
The planning and introduction of a new intervention or strategy, be it small or large, must consider what the goal or overall outcomes are expected. It is from these goals that that a benefits mapping and realisation plan can be developed. Many projects make the assumption that benefits happen because a new system is implemented. To realise benefits requires planning and active action. These actions need to be clearly identified and linked to the strategic goals during the development stage. Key considerations when identifying benefits and subsequent benefit measures are: • Benefits match the outcomes desired • Stakeholders have been engaged in development and identifying the expected benefits • Organisation(s) are committed, in a state of readiness and are in a position that can deliver (financial, change, commitment) • Responsibilities have been allocated and expectations clear • The strategy is integrated with the overall systems goals (vertically and horizontally) and internally and externally. While it is important to identify and agree the benefits it is also essential to also set the expectations for achievement progress; in other words identify what the benefits are and when these benefits are expected to be realised. Understanding and mapping a programme or strategy to reflect the goals and identified associated results is important. This process also involves identifying what the dependencies are and these also can be depicted visually. Once this process is undertaken it then is useful to begin to build a larger more comprehensive benefit realisation map (or logic framework) this helps to check that the assumptions made are robust and to begin to detail what the measures of success might be. The following presentation will walk you you through an example of a benefits realisation model for measuring integrated care.