Invest in dedicated transition capacity and programme management

Why this matters

ICBs must continue delivering their required responsibilities even as they go through the close down and creation of the new organisations. Without dedicated capacity to manage the transition and clear roles and responsibilities, there is a risk that essential functions for both the transition and business as usual are not met.  

What works in practice

Managing the complexity and rapid pace of the transition alongside business as usual was only achieved by protecting capacity for the transition and taking a structured programme management approach.  

All ICBs had full-time staff managing the transition programme. In one ICB this represented two full-time-equivalent roles, alongside subject-matter experts leading specific workstreams. This enabled them to draw on the right technical knowledge while managing the coordination of the different workstreams and its interdependencies. 

The transition director played a key role in continually identifying and reviewing priorities, focusing on identifying what was essential for the legal establishment of the new organisation on 1 April. At the same time, some areas of business were deprioritised, such as developing the annual report, to maintain a minimum level of delivery while freeing up capacity for transition activities. 

Advice from ICB leaders

• Build time for informal check-ins between workstream leads, alongside formal meetings, to stay responsive and support rapid problem-solving.
• While a programme management approach adds value, avoid overengineering. Reporting for its own sake can undermining effective assurance.
• When launching the transition, ask all teams to identify what they would stop, start and continue in order to support workload management and prioritise the right activity.