Setting a project vision & objectives

ATLAS has experienced a variety of approaches to setting a project vision & objectives and related learning points.

Establishing a shared vision and objectives was particularly important for a project in Sussex which involved an unallocated brownfield site where a developer was proposing a housing led development. In this case the LPA and developer were unsure how best to deal with each other and therefore how best to progress the concept. ATLAS promoted collaboration and helped organise a visioning event through which a shared vision & objectives for the site were established jointly by the landowners, community and other key stakeholders including statutory agencies. Advance preparation for this involved individual stakeholders openly discussing their expectations and identifying the potential constraints and opportunities to achieve them. Sharing upfront this information enabled the various perspectives to be understood, shared objectives to be agreed and areas of potential conflict recognised.

The lack of a clear vision can result in slow progress and uncertainty amongst partners as to what could and should be achieved through a project. A strategic regeneration project in Essex that ATLAS have been involved in has demonstrated this. In this case, a masterplan was established, but it’s stated vision did not clarify the ambition for the place and instead set out an intended process rather than outcome. A set of project objectives were set out in the masterplan, but had not evolved through an open collaborative process or been subject to appropriate critique by all partners, with a result that many of them could not be supported or were unrealistic. In this case ATLAS undertook a review of the project in general, acting as an independent third party to critically evaluate the vision and work with partners through a visioning workshop to ensure that all stakeholders clearly explained their expectations, priorities and any constraints. Partners could then move forward with greater shared understanding.

In another case in Cambridgeshire, ATLAS is involved in a project where two large proposals exist beside each other, but are at different stages in the planning process. Delay and problems have occurred to actual decision making as no overarching vision or objectives exists for the area in its totality, making it difficult to consider and agree on a shared approach, in particular as to where certain key infrastructure investment should be made. Brining the projects together early in the process would have helped to define an overarching vision and set of shared objectives, at the same time highlighting the areas of conflict and enabling resources to be focussed on their resolution.

Sometimes a vision and objectives exist for a project, but you may realise under closer scrutiny that they are out of date or inadequate for what you want to achieve on the site. ATLAS was able to help another authority in Sussex to review the vision and objectives set out by a prospective developer some years previously, which had been superseded by events. As that work had not been produced collaboratively the authority was concerned that the vision was developer-led rather than shared. The local authority was able to address gaps in the existing work – in this case looking beyond the physical development to build a picture of the social and community objectives for the place. This will be captured in a supplementary document that will be prepared jointly with the developer. It’s not always easy - some of the objectives have generated some heated debate between parties, such as nature and quantum of open space – but reaching agreement up front should save time on long running debates later on. The exercise reinforced the need for the local authority to work more closely across teams to agree corporate objectives rather than work in silos. ATLAS has encouraged the authority to agree the status of the document being produced and how it will be used in evaluating the application, as misunderstandings about this could undermine the process.

Our key learning point is that the most successful approaches tend to be in those projects where the vision & objectives have evolved through a collaborative process to engender broad stakeholder support and ownership in the project vision going forward. Without them there is a far greater risk of uncertainty over outcomes and delay to decision making.