These are the key actions you will do for reporting on your progress and risks.
Agree your project plan and risk log with your team
Set up:
- your project plan in line with your funding bid
- a risk log where you can track all the risks to your project
Submit a monthly progress update using a form
Every month, you must submit your monthly progress form on Delta. Your Community Manager will provide you with information on how to register for Delta and access the Digital Planning Programme form.
The form asks about:
- go live dates for data and software
- project updates - including successes, challenges, blockers and support needed
- risks
- how much of your funding you have left and whether it will last as long as you need it to
Tracking progress will help us understand when you need more support, why things might be complex, or where we can link you up with other LPAs who are at a similar stage and you can problem solve together.
Share month notes in Slack
Every month you will write an update to the ODP community about your progress, this is called a ‘month note’. You will be able to see everyone else’s month notes too.
Month notes support the community to work in the open and can provide opportunities to collaborate with others in the community.
You will post your update in the channel(s) relevant to the the fund(s) you are part of in the ODP Slack. You can ask a community manager if you are not sure which channel to post in.
The ODP month channels are:
#digital-planning-improvement-month-notes
#odp-product-month-notes
#proptech-month-notes
If you wish, you can also post it on your LPA’s blog or send it around as an email or newsletter.
Tips for writing a good month note
Here’s a template you can use.
A good month note is:
- between 200 and 400 words
- honest - this is aimed at your peers who will understand and may be able to help
- human - you need people to be engaged and interested
- visual - bring it to life with images and screenshots
- consistent and regular - this helps build trust with your stakeholders
Don’t worry if you feel like you don’t have anything to report on - we know some people are blocked and that may be out of your control. You could mention other related things your council is involved in within programme or in your LPA that others might be interested in.
Review and manage your risk log regularly
You need to regularly review the risk log you created at the start of your project and keep it up to date.
You will highlight risks to Community Managers at the monthly Retrospectives, in your monthly progress reports, or if more urgent, get in touch directly via Slack or email.
How to run a risk log
- Identify risks - gather your team and brainstorm potential risks.
- Assess and prioritise - evaluate risks based on likelihood and impact, then prioritise them.
- Develop mitigation strategies - create plans to minimise high-priority risks.
- Assign ownership - designate team members to manage and monitor each risk.
- Regularly review and update - schedule regular meetings to reassess risks and adjust mitigation strategies as needed.
- Attend the monthly group risk reporting session with your community manager.
Attend Retrospectives
You will attend a monthly retrospective session, which your community manager team will arrange and facilitate.
A retrospective is a facilitated meeting or activity where we consider the work we’ve done, and how we’re working together. It’s commonly used in agile environment, but can be applied anywhere. They provide:
- A dedicated space to reflect: Specific time for reflection, in addition to our usual thoughtful working practices.
- An opportunity to learn from what we’ve done: Space to look back and recognise areas to learn from, things that went well or were challenging. We can look at how we work, as well as the work we are doing.
- An opportunity to change: Space to look ahead, adapt, and try something new. Regular retrospectives means that we can experiment in a safe, low risk environment.
Deliver show and tells
Show and tells are the easiest way to bring your stakeholders within your LPA and within your cohorts together to see, hear and feel what you are doing. You can:
- deliver a show and tell for other LPAs to share learnings
- deliver show and tells within your own LPA to keep people in the loop
You can do whatever style of show and tell you like - here’s a show and tell template if you want some ideas.
Further guidance
Read our full guidance on our approach to reporting on progress and risks.