Kent County Council - Project Prioritisation in Adult Social Care - Version 1.0-FINAL

Sep 12, 2026

A spotlight session deck from Kent County Council outlining the end-to-end process for handling new idea or work requests in Adult Social Care. It details submission via an MS Form, automated response triage into categories, and prioritisation using a weighted value framework spanning strategic value, benefit value, practice improvement, and integration. The model incorporates DECA scoring to tier delivery environment complexity and determine likely resourcing levels, culminating in approval and resource allocation guided by a prioritisation heatmap and reviews.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

In this Spotlight Session

New Idea / New Work Request

Triage

Prioritisation – Project Value

DECA – Project Complexity

Resource Allocation

Assessment Review of ‘Project Value’

Challenges, Lessons Learned & Recommendations

Overview of the Process

Step 1 - New Request comes in

Step 2 - Triage

Step 3 - Prioritise

Approval & Resource Allocation

Review

Kent County Council Project Prioritisation in Adult Social Care Darren Avery: PMO Manager Jonathan Carton: Project Manager (PMO) Version: 1.0-FINAL 1 Contents In this Spotlight Session, we will cover the following: ❑ New Idea / New Work Request ❑ Triage ❑ Prioritisation – Project Value ❑ DECA – Project Complexity ❑ Resource Allocation ❑ Assessment Review of ‘Project Value’ ❑ Challenges, Lessons Learned & Recommendations Overview of the process 1 2 3 4 | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | New Request | Triage | Prioritisation | | An MS Form is | PMO undertake an initial | Any new proposed | | submitted for a new | triage, determining | activities are scored | | piece of work | whether the request is for a new piece of work, | using the Prioritisation Matrix | Approval & Resource Allocation Scores are approved by Senior Management 5 Review Scores are reviewed atthe end of the Assessment stage. supports an existing activity, or is a request for information Step 1-New Request comes in “I’ve got a new idea!” The first step is speaking with someone about your idea – usually your line manager, or perhaps a team or service manager. “I have an idea that is likely to improve best practice.” “I have an idea to improve the service we offer to people we support.” “I have an idea to improve the way we store information in the system.” Once your idea has been fleshed out, it’s time to fill in the ‘Initial Contact – New Request’ MS Form. Step 2-Triage The Portfolio Management Office (PMO) have automated all responses from the Initial Contact Form, to populate in a kanban board on Microsoft Teams ready to be triaged. Idea Idea Idea Information, Advice Existing Project New Project and Guidance Deliverable Each request that comes through will be triaged as either Information, Advice and Guidance, Existing Project Deliverable or New Project. Step 3-Prioritise The Portfolio Management Office (PMO) use the Prioritisation Matrix to score each New Project against a set criteria. Each New Project will have individually weighted Strategic, Benefits, Practice Improvements , and Integration scores. The overall scores will form our project priority order, which will be used to make informed decisions. | Strategic Value
(25%) | Weight | Question | | --- | --- | --- | | | 20% | The project directly addresses the three MADE Pillars | | | 20% | The project has Senior Management and / or high Political Interest | | | 50% | The extent to which the activity aligns to Securing Kent's Future (i.e. focus on achieving financial benefits) . | | | 10% | The project is a critical enabler for other projects | | Benefit Value
(50%) | Weight | Question | | --- | --- | --- | | | 25% | The project delivers significant benefits for the people we support | | | 60% | The project delivers cash benefits (savings, cost-avoidance etc. ) . And / or the investment is expected to deliver significant VFM | | | 10% | The project delivers significant benefits for staff | | | 5% | The project is considered a quick-win | | Practice Improvement Value (15%) | Weight | Question | | --- | --- | --- | | | 60% | Improves operational performance and best practice | | | 40% | Contributes towards meeting our statutory responsibilities | | Integration Value
(10%) | Weight | Question | | --- | --- | --- | | | 100% | The project enables integration between Health and Social Care | Prioritisation dimensions Prioritisation dimensions Tiering Projects – DECA scores The Delivery Environment Complexity Analytic (DECA) is a tool developed by the National Audit Office (NAO) to provide a high-level overview of the challenges, complexity and risks to delivery of a project, programme, policy or area of work. We use the Tier to give an indication for the level of resource that might be required. Questions include (see appendix for full list): • How stable is the environment – e.g. are there any p

FAQs

How does a new idea or work request enter the process?

A new request is first discussed with the requester’s line manager or relevant team/service manager. After the idea is defined, it is submitted via the 'Initial Contact – New Request' MS Form.

What happens during triage?

The PMO automates responses from the Initial Contact Form to populate a Microsoft Teams kanban board. Requests are then triaged into categories such as information, advice and guidance, existing project deliverable, or new project.

How are new projects prioritised and how is complexity assessed?

New projects are scored using the Prioritisation Matrix with weighted strategic, benefits, practice improvements, and integration criteria to set a priority order. Complexity is assessed using DECA tiering, mapping DECA scores to tiers that indicate the level of resource likely required.

Sep 12, 2026

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