As part of the review exercise, the Corporate Risk Team examined the project risk management elements, with a view to ensuring that project managers, teams and boards have the means to robustly identify and manage key risks and issues related to the project.  One of the main tools to do this, the Position Risk Assessment (PRA), is for use in all projects, regardless of value.  The purpose of the PRA is to estimate the level of risk within a project, both at an initial stage and at any other time during the life cycle of the project. Completion of the PRA helps to obtain a view on risks which could prevent the project being delivered, create substantial time delays, or give rise to unbudgeted costs. It also considers the risks and impacts on the Council and the achievement of its priorities, if the project were to be cancelled or significantly curtailed.   

At this latest review it was decided to include within the PRA some additional risk elements to ensure better alignment with the ‘Impacts’ section of the council’s committee report template, this included equality impacts.  The PRA now requires project teams to reflect upon whether equality aspects have been adequately considered, whether an equality impact assessment has been carried out, whether there are any Equalities impacts arising and whether they can be addressed and/or are unjustified.  The tool signposts users to the Equalities Manager for assistance where required, and further underlines the importance of equality matters by advising that, “if the assessment has identified negative equality impacts that cannot be justified, the project cannot proceed in its current form.”

Project Managers and Teams will be required to undertake PRA’s as part of the standard approach to project management and report results of the same to Project Boards, where key risks, issues, and importantly mitigating actions should be discussed and agreed or approved.