Use of Benefits Management Methodologies

The request was partially successful.

Dear Her Majesty’s Treasury,

I am writing to you under a Freedom of Information Act request regarding the use of structured benefits management methodologies.

For clarity, all the following questions relate to benefits management as defined by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC): “the identification, definition, tracking, realisation and optimisation of benefits, usually within a programme”.

Could you please provide me with responses to the following questions set out below?

1. Do you currently or have you in the past used structured benefits management methodologies when delivering a programme, including any of the following?
• Benefits Realisation Management (Bradley, 2006, OGC, 2004)
• The Cranfield Process Model of Benefits Management (Ward et al., 1996)
• Management of Value (OGC, 2010)
• Active Benefits Realisation (Remenyi & Sherwood-Smith, 1998)

2. What is the most commonly used method and why is this method used rather than any of the other methods available?

3. Do you have a benefits management centre of excellence?

4. Do you have a specialist benefits management resource? Please indicate whether this is a permanent or contingent resource.

5. Does your organisation have a centrally managed and consistent framework, with established processes, for defining and tracking benefits realisation?

6. To what extent are business requirements linked to and influenced by benefits?

7. On a scale of 1 to 9, where 1 is not embedded at all and 9 is thoroughly embedded, how well embedded is benefits management within programme management and the development of organisational strategies?

8. Please provide a sample of completed benefits management products, specifically:
• Benefits maps
• Benefits registers
• Benefits management strategies
• Benefits realisation plans
• Benefits profiles

9. If you do not use a structured benefits management approach, please provide a reason as to why this decision has been taken.

Thank you in advance for providing this information and I look forward to receiving your reply within the statutory time limit of 20 working days.

Yours faithfully,

James Crutchley

Enquiries, CEU - HMT [Restricted], HM Treasury

Dear Mr Crutchley

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request. I write to confirm receipt of your request and to let you know that it is receiving attention. If you have any enquiries regarding your request do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

Vicky Gallagher
Correspondence and Information Rights Team

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responses, FOI - HMT [Restricted], HM Treasury

Dear Mr Crutchley

Please could you clarify what you mean by benefits management. Are you referring to a department wide management or management of individual programmes or projects or do you mean benefits as in state benefits like job seekers allowance. It would help us if we could understand exactly what you mean by structured benefits management methodologies.

Regards

Information Rights Unit| HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, SW1A 2HQ

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Dear responses, FOI - HMT [Restricted],

By benefits management, I am referring to a method of managing how resources are invested to successfully deliver anticipated changes. I am not referring to state benefits, but the positive outcomes of change from a project or programme.

My request refers to the use of benefits management techniques at an aggregate level across all programmes undertaken by Her Majesty's Treasury.

Yours sincerely,

James Crutchley

responses, FOI - HMT [Restricted], HM Treasury

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Enquiries, CEU - HMT [Restricted], HM Treasury

Dear Mr Crutchley,

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request. I write to confirm receipt of your request and to let you know that it is receiving attention. If you have any enquiries regarding your request do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards

Mohammad

Kind Regards,
Correspondence and Information Rights Team | Corporate Centre Group | 2nd Floor Blue Zone | HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Rd, London, SW1A 2HQ | Please consider the environment before printing this email.
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

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responses, FOI - HMT [Restricted], HM Treasury

Dear Mr Crutchley

 

Thanks you for your recent enquiry. The Green Book is HM Treasury guidance
for Central Government, setting out a framework for the appraisal and
evaluation of all policies, programmes and projects. Further information
is available on the Treasury website:

[1]http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_green...

If you have any queries, please contact me. It will be helpful to us if
you remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

Kind regards

 

HM Treasury | Information Rights Unit |1 Horse Guards Road | SW1A 2HQ
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

 

 

 

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Dear responses, FOI - HMT [Restricted],

Many thanks for providing this information.

Could you please tell me:
a) if HMT has a benefits management centre of excellence or a benefits management permanent member of staff?
b) Also, I requested examples of benefits work that HMT has produced. Therefore, could you please provide me with such samples of work?

Yours sincerely,

James Crutchley

responses, FOI - HMT [Restricted], HM Treasury

1 Attachment

Dear Mr. Crutchley

 

Please find attached a response to your FOI request.

 

Regards

 

 

 

 

Information Rights Unit| HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, SW1A 2HQ

 

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Enquiries, CEU - HMT [Restricted], HM Treasury

Dear Mr Crutchley

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request. I write to confirm receipt of your request and to let you know that it is receiving attention. If you have any enquiries regarding your request do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

Vicky Gallagher
Correspondence and Information Rights Team

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James Crutchley

Dear Her Majesty’s Treasury,

I made a request on 29 January 2013 regarding the use of benefits management methodologies by HM Treasury.

I received a reply on 18 February regarding my request for information. The response I received stated that no information was held regarding my request.

I am currently asking:
- for a sample of work benefits work produced by HM Treasury (e.g. benefits registers, benefits realisation plans, etc.)
- whether HM Treasury has a programme or benefits management centre of excellence or benefits management resource

Therefore, I believe that information does exist regarding both of these questions for the following reasons:
- the response insinuates that HM Treasury is only an approvals organisation for programmes and projects. However, I find it inconceivable that HM Treasury does not currently or has not in the recent past operated any form of programme. If such a programme has been operated by HM Treasury, there will be recorded information which will be sufficient to answer my question and provide me with benefits management products, or at least confirm that no information exists and the programme did not undertake any benefits management work.
- regarding information on the existence of a programme or benefits management centre of excellence, it would be reasonable to assume that this could be found in information on the organisational structure of HM Treasury.
- regarding information on whether HM Treasury has a benefits management resource (either permanent staff or contract worker), the HR function for HM Treasury should record information on this.

Could this please be reviewed and a response issued?

Yours faithfully,

James Crutchley

Enquiries, CEU - HMT [Restricted], HM Treasury

Dear Mr Crutchley

Thank you for your Internal Review request. I write to confirm receipt of your request and to let you know that it is receiving attention. If you have any enquiries regarding your request do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

Vicky Gallagher
Correspondence and Information Rights Team

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responses, FOI - HMT [Restricted], HM Treasury

1 Attachment

Please find attached our response to your recent enquiry.

Wendy Rendall 

HM Treasury | Information Rights Unit |1 Horse Guards Road | SW1A 2HQ
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

 

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