In with a CEO – out with another Major Projects Authority head

“Senior Responsible Owners often move too frequently, leaving mid-way through a project. Sometimes, this can enable skill sets to be aligned with project requirements but more frequently it causes delay and instability and disrupts effective implementation. During the remainder of 2012, the MPA will work with departments to ensure there is systematic planning and clarity of roles, linking the post to milestones or key deliverables, and retaining key staff during critical phases of project delivery.”

This was the promise of the July 2012 Civil Service Reform Plan. But the Major Projects Authority itself has fallen victim to RTS - rapid turnover syndrome. Its first boss, David Pitchford, served 22 months before being parachuted in to the Department for Work and Pensions to sort out Universal Credit. After a three month gap he came back for another four months before returning home to Australia. He was then followed by Norma Wood as acting director for five months, then her “permanent” successor, John Manzoni was in post for a mere eight months before his elevation to the be civil service CEO – and boss of the boss of the MPA. That makes an average tenure in post of 14 months (if David Pitchford’s two stints in charge are combined) - but with continuous leadership of only eight and a half months if they are not. Indeed, if we (a bit unfairly) focused on what has happened since David Pitchford’s first period in charge, the average tenure has been a paltry four and a half months – barely enough time to read the list of major projects let alone get an insight into the intricacies of a portfolio of 199 projects worth just shy of £500bn. This is a shame – because, as we have argued elsewhere, in reports on the centre of government and international delivery, the MPA has proved to be a useful innovation – and one worth retaining and building on. But it will only be effective with strong and consistent leadership. A common complaint of ministers about their civil servants is that good people are always moving on to the next priority or to troubleshoot the newest problem. The lack of depth in project management, project leadership and commercial skills in Whitehall is one reason why the MPA has become the go-to place when a gap emerges – as it did on Universal Credit and now has done to fill the CEO role. But this risks undermining the effectiveness of the body which is designed to deliver a change in these disciplines across government. John Manzoni has a lot in his in-tray. As the process for his own appointment has proved, this is not a good time to be persuading people to cross from the private to the public sector. But with cross-party commitment to retain the MPA and Labour talking about strengthening it, he needs to make it a priority to appoint a new head with the requisite skills and experience with a commitment to serve a full, five-year term.