WCL have reviewed, managed and advised on pilot projects and programmes for government departments and helped ensure that pilots are delivered at a local level for over six years. During this time, we have built up a wealth of knowledge and experience in what it takes successfully to manage and deliver pilots. We have seen that there is a set of key principles that drive the success of almost all pilots so that, while each one is different and poses unique challenges, it is possible to use this set of principles to measure the likelihood of success and to help our clients deliver successful pilots.

A good pilot allows policy teams and ministers to make informed decisions about policy areas, such as whether to roll them out more widely or how best to deliver them. This can be through providing:

• Lessons in good practice
• Early indicators of success or failure
• Value for money
• Engagement with local delivery chains and leadership
• Positive media and communication opportunities
• Robust evaluation data

Seven-point review

In order to deliver the benefits of a good pilot (and to avoid the pitfalls that we have seen and overcome along the way), we have developed a seven-point review that supports our clients to identify improvements to ‘live' pilots and to help get them back on track if they are at risk. It can also support the effective set-up of pilots so they get off on the right foot, saving time and money through using best-practice principles. We can work with you to quickly diagnose the state of health of pilot projects and to make recommendations to reduce the risk, improve performance and deliver benefits.

The pilot review focuses on the following seven aspects of pilots which we have identified as being instrumental to success:

• Selection (How are pilot areas selected? How will the local context affect the pilot results?)
• Governance and management (Is the pilot well-managed?)
• Delivery model (Is this agreed and communicated? Can it be evaluated? How are local areas involved in shaping the model?)
• Local delivery (How will this happen? Is there assurance that it will happen?)
• Management information (What is it? Can it be used to manage the project and to inform stakeholders?)
• Evaluation (Will the evaluation measure the right things?)
• Communication and stakeholder management (Are we actively seeking and acting on feedback?)

Our reviews explore each of the seven points and provide a set of clear recommendations, risks and issues, and next steps to allow you to manage the pilot successfully.

Self-assessment

We've also developed a short self-assessment using some of the questions from our seven-point review. You can use it to quickly gauge whether your pilot is on track for success or whether there are areas for improvement. 

For general enquiries contact Andrew Burns.