BUSINESS CONSULTING– FORMATIVE ASSIGNMENT
Group work: groups can be up to a maximum of 5 people each.
PROJECT ASSIGNMENT: CLIENT CONSULTANCY GROUPWORK
PROJECT, “UPSTARTS, NHS FORTH VALLEY”
You have recently started work at the consultancy company, “Upstarts Inc.”, which is a consultancy
business that is employs a mixture of 10 academics and 10 technologists as professional consultants.
Your company is four years old and has made its name working for clients – a mixture of
governmental and industrial – in three key areas:
1. Healthcare Disruptions
2. Real-Time Telecommunications and Data Communication Tools
3. Ethical Implications of Big Data disruptions
Your company has become well-respected for the balanced approach to understanding questions
academically. Each of the academic consultants have published regarding the work they do for
clients. Each of your 10 professional consultants have helped start-up companies and established
companies who work in disruptive innovation to harness the potential of their technology in a way
that is ethically sound and attractive to society in general.
The Scottish Government Approach to Service Design
The Scottish Government have become well aware of the disruption that will be a feature of 21st
Century Healthcare and are preparing the NHS to be able to adapt to the opportunities that will
come from the new Healthcare Landscape. To that end, they have developed a double-diamond
approach to service design
Figure 1: Double Diamond Service Design: From Insight to Service Provision
Recent publications show the Government’s framework. And one of the key developments is the
double diamond approach to service delivery, which is inclusive and responsive to the needs of NHS
stakeholders.
Figure 2: NHS Forth Valley Service Design Stakeholders
NHS Forth Valley 5 Year Innovation Plan
You have been given access to NHS Forth Valley’s 10-year plan, which says “Innovation is at the
heart of NHS transformation and is a key component in ensuring we can develop and deliver NHS
services effectively for the future. As a result of COVID 19, there has been rapid engagement and
innovative solutions developed at pace to support services to recover from the impact of the
pandemic. The successful implementation of solutions has led to an appetite for change and
removed barriers that had previously hampered and slowed the speed of innovation.
“The Remobilise, Recover and Redesign Framework for Scotland1 outlines how NHS Boards will
remobilise, support development and embed innovation and digital approaches into everyday
practices whilst aligning to the national care programmes. NHS Forth Valley have identified this as a
key priority within “Our system wide remobilisation plan” and is working to identify priority
innovation challenges and opportunities taking account of innovations being developed via the three
Regional Hubs. (https://www.nhsggc.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/news/2020/12/first-scottishregional-testing-hub-laboratory-goes-live-at-gartnavel-hospital/# )
“NHS Forth Valley’s Innovation Plan will enable us to embed the use of technology into our everyday
practice and business. Identify priority innovation challenges and opportunities ensuring we
continue to support the acceleration of digital services and innovation to improve patient outcomes
and experiences.”
1 https://www.gov.scot/publications/re-mobilise-recover-re-design-framework-nhs-scotland/
Figure 3: Forth Valley Innovation Plan and Pipeline Challenges
Three “Challenge Projects” have recently been suggested:
1. The Innovation Pipeline: working with the double diamond and SMEs to provide new
services. For example, the AI 25×25 Project. the pipeline of Innovation challenges working
with Health and Social Care to develop these further. The exploration of the setup of
laboratories in communities in community centres or disused shops for the potential CLIC
centres for both Dermatology / Ophthalmology.
2. Internal Challenges: There will be issues of data sharing that will be both practical and
ethical, working with industrial and civic partners, finding projects that can enable change
while at the same time maintaining a professional service to all stakeholders. It is thought
that Triple Helix partnerships with the University of Stirling may help in this regard.
3. Health and Social Care Partnerships: Working across agencies, with communities. This
requires exploration of ways NHS and Social Services can work together in the community to
address a “wellness” agenda.
UPSTARTS INC, AND NHS Forth Valley
The 4 key concerns facing the Forth Valley NHS board are:
1. The disruptive nature of innovative healthcare
2. The complex ethical questions that surround NHS Forth Valley working with Community
Groups and external organisations
3. The key risks and opportunities that NHS Forth Valley will encounter in pursuing such
projects;
4. Issues of sustainability, particularly how innovations can take root and become the norm as
the project plan progresses.
Upstarts are establishing teams to address each of these concerns. You will be working for one of
these teams.
Each team will choose one Challenge Project, and focus on the key concerns will produce a strategy
to address their issue. All teamwork will then be pooled and Upstarts will review input from the four
teams and present a client approach to Forth Valley NHS.
Your first task is to join a group, and then to perform the first stages of analysis to see which
challenge project your team is most interested in, and which of the key concerns of NHS Forth Valley
will need to be addressed in your work.
Formative Assignment
Upstarts Inc. have been employed by NHS Forth Valley to propose a sustainable, ethically attractive
strategy for innovation that will see a successful enactment of the plan.
In your presentation, you will be expected to describe the results of a problem-statement
worksheet, giving criteria for a successful or useful outcome for the company from the business
point of view. Each team is to:
1. Produce a Presentation for Forth Valley NHS to present a Project Proposal of what steps
Upstarts Inc., will do to assist Forth Valley NHS to address the board’s concerns in your area
over the first 2 years of the partnership. Upload your presentation along with your
presentation script.
2. Your team will be required to present your presentation to the Upstarts Inc., board. Each
member of your team should present a significant portion of the presentation, and
everyone should be prepared to answer questions. Your presentation will be a 15 minutes
long and should demonstrate how you have used the tools of the module to develop your
solution.
3. You should submit a PowerPoint presentation with each person contributing by video in
their section.
Individual Assignment 1
An Internal company report describing how the project went and exploring internal and external
stakeholder questions will also be required. This will be the individual work that you will do. Full
details of the assignment task will be released at the end of week 1.