NDA9/00916.058 - Support to Beacon Project: Group Planning Capability

The NDA Group does not currently have a Group-level strategic planning capability nor an approach to model 'what if' scenarios and evaluate their mission benefit or disbenefit at group and/or opco levels. Historically, strategic planning capabilities were held by Parent Body Organisations (PBO's) of OpCo's, with each OpCo having its own planning capability, including creating and maintaining Lifetime Plans. Today, the OpCo Lifetime Plans remain separate data sets at different states of maturity (e.g. scope, accuracy, logic, integrity of data, underpinning assumptions) preventing the simulation of 'what-if' interventions at the Group level. To predict the impact of one or multiple 'what-if' scenarios across an aggregated picture of the estate (above the individual OpCo Lifetime Plans) will require the creation of a Group mission plan, against which scenarios can be modelled. By creating a Group planning capability around this Group mission plan, we will be able to model and consider group portfolio trade-offs and inter-group dependencies and translate our strategic decisions into delivery through OpCo delivery plans. To respond to this need and realise the benefits of the OneNDA model and closer working relationships, the group has confirmed the need to develop a Group planning capability, which will be the objective of a multi-year Beacon Project commencing in April 2024. We aim to design and implement a consistent Group-level approach to planning, driven by quality financial and operational / activity data. It will consider how all elements of planning across the group are conducted and how various elements contribute to meeting the NDA mission. Beyond the work completed to date, below describes the further development work required to successfully deliver Year 1 of the Beacon Project and the associated 'Stretch' measures/commitments made in the Group Key Target (GKT): This engagement has two primary objectives: 1. To support the Beacon project working group to identify, design and implement a suite of management arrangements to establish and maintain the initial group planning capability and Group Mission Plan upon which it relies. 2. To design and facilitate to conclusion, a scenario modelling event that considers one scenario (likely comprising several interventions) in order to determine and present in a report the mission benefits and disbenefits of said scenario in