Local Service Innovation

Set Up

Planning

Innovation
Creative
Event
Event

Project
Definitions

Business
Case

Action
Decision

Improving lives and life chances for disadvantaged people and communities through the use of technology

Project Definition Examples

The final output of the Project Definition Phase is a clear, succinct project definition for
each solution. There are examples of project definition templates with this toolkit but they
all typically include:
-

Name of the project

Outline description of the implementation plan for the project including potential
partners and existing services and products that will be foundations for delivery

Benefits

Success Criteria

An early view on set-up vs operating costs; not actual values, but an identification of
what will need to be funded

Early view on short term vs long term shape of the project

Outstanding questions, risks and concerns

Stakeholder feedback

Updated scorings against each of the idea filtering criteria having reassessed each
project in light of the improved definition.

The above can typically be written in a one or two page document for each project. The
scorings against the idea filtering criteria, alongside the stakeholder feedback, should
permit clear recommendations to be made to the senior stakeholder on which project(s) to
take forward, and what to do with the remaining ideas.

Kent County Council

Kent County Council ran an innovation process for Just Coping families in 2008. Six
projects emerged from a solution and idea filtering stage to select the promising solutions
from the innovation event. Short one-page project definitions were produced to support the
subsequent project selection meeting at which two were selected for business casing. The
Kent project definition document illustrates a good way to present project details in
preparation for a project selection meeting all projects have been rated against idea
filtering criteria again to support the selection process for business casing.

If you use this toolkit you will be bound by its End User License Agreement (EULA) set out in the Terms and Conditions of Use, so
please read carefully.

Local Service Innovation

Improving lives and life chances for disadvantaged people and communities through the use of technology

North Lincolnshire Council

North Lincolnshire County Council ran an innovation process for Care Leavers in 2007.
Two projects emerged as front-runners from the innovation event and after a project
selection meeting it was agreed to develop the project definition documents for these
projects further before business casing. These are examples of longer pre-business case
project definition documents containing market-scanning research:

Online Life Skills Centre; to provide resources and support to care leavers that help
to bridge the gap in level of support they received before and after leaving care. The
final life skills project definition document is available as an example.

eMentoring Service; to enhance an existing face-to-face mentoring service with a

online mentoring service. The ementoring project definition document is available
as an example.

Leicester and Rutland

In 2009 an innovation event was held on Prolific and Priority Offenders (PPOs) in
Leicester. Following a solution and idea filtering stage to select the promising solutions
from the innovation event, two projects were selected and short project definition
documents were developed.

Online and Text Based Mentoring; to supplement an existing peer-to-peer

mentoring service. A project definition was developed using a project definition tool.
The project definition spreadsheet and the output from the tool are both available as
examples.

A virtual rucksack for PPOs; which provides a virtual store for important documents
such as educational records and other details which ease PPOs journey back into
employment and accommodation. A project definition was developed using a project
definition tool. The project definition spreadsheet and the output from the tool are
both available as examples.

Local Service Innovation

Improving lives and life chances for disadvantaged people and communities through the use of technology

Reading
In 2009 an innovation was held on NEETS (those classified as Not in Education
Employment or Training) in Reading. A significant number of ideas emerged. Powerful
visual techniques were used for defining these ideas and solutions. Rather than
shortlisting these into projects the project team developed a programme definition for how
the ideas and solutions might all fit together into a longer-term programme. This
programme definition document is available as an example.