Project And Evaluation Plan - Example

ALWAYS YOUNG STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLAN Always Young Strategic Business Plan Customer Name: Lecturer Name: Date: Content Outline Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION 3 1.1 Agency 4 1.2 Target Group 4 1.3 Project outline and staffing 4 2.0 BACKGROUND 8 2.1 Target group 8 2.2 Needs and Issues 9 2.3 Assets and Strengths 11 2.4 Project Rationale 12 3.0 PROJECT PLAN 12 3.1 Project Aim 12 3.2 Objectives and strategies 13 3.3 Performance Indicators 14 3.4 Timeline and Implementation Plan 15 3.5 Ethical issues 16 3.6 Monitoring and Evaluation Plan 17 3.7 Audiences for the evaluation 18 Data management 18 Monitoring 19 Dissemination 19 Budget and timeline 19 References 20 LIST OF TERMS AND APPREVIATIONS ACAT Aged Care Assessor ACRS Aged Care and Rehabilitation Service ACSAA Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency ACT Australian Capital Territory ACTAY Australian Capital Territory Always Young ADACAS ACT Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy Service U.N United Nations 1.0 INTRODUCTION The dynamics of living changed substantially globally. With the increase of life expectancy, the number of elderly persons has been increasing globally, with different nations having reduced birth rates and lower death rates, hence resulting to people that are more elderly. Global statistics suggests that 7.9% of the global populace, are persons aged 65 years and over. In Australia, according to Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, 19.5 percent of the populace are aged more than sixty years, 13.9 percent are more than sixty five years old, while 3.9 percent are more than eighty years. The proportion of elderly persons is projected to grow substantially in the near future. Elderly persons have several problems, the main problems are related to health problems, hence the need to address health problems in elderly people. 1.1 Agency The Australian Capital Territory Always Young (ACTAY) is an agency for the elderly which offers diverse physiotherapy, recreational and entertainment services, to the elderly citizens of the Australian Capital Territory. 1.2 Target Group The principal target group for the project are the elderly persons who are aged more than sixty years. However, the project also targets all the mature members of the community, in addition to targeting the persons providing for the elderly. 1.3 Project outline and staffing There are various governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, community based organizations, interest groups, societies and groups which are concerned with providing recreational and physiotherapy services to the aged at Australian Capital Territory. These include:- The Aged Care and Rehabilitation Service (ACRS) which combines ACT Health's aged care and rehabilitation services, with the critical objective of enhancing the accessibility and service quality. The DP Aged Day Service Information, which offers primary medical care service and offer timely care to aged patients in their homes or those in residential aged care facilities, in cases where the patient's usual GP cannot offer care in a suitable time frame. ACT Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy Service (ADACAS), serves the purpose of protecting, promoting and defending the rights of people with disabilities, older people and their care-takers. Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency is concerned with independently managing, supervision and accreditation of Commonwealth sponsored aged care homes. Aged Care Assessor (ACAT)  is also an important body which evaluates the aged care recipients in the country of are beneficiaries of Australian Federal Government assistance and rebates. Aged Care Assessor can categorize the elderly into different categories such as veterans’ home care, low care and high care. According to ACAT, the elderly persons experience several problems associated with age. There are several issues genetic and environmental, which affect how the elderly age. Accordingly, several problems experienced by the elderly include accidents, coronary heart disease, cancer, pneumonia, stroke and flu. Other conditions experienced by the elderly at the ACT include Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, heart conditions such coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. Parkinson's disease, Eye problems and breathing challenges, moreover, the aged experience weakened immune system, slowed reaction time and reduced sense of smell or taste, and loss or appetite as presented by Gabrielle, (2009). The challenges experienced by the elderly are at times manageable and can be avoided by exposing the aged to entertainment and recreational activities, Greer, (2002). The elderly enjoy various services in the country which varies from home-based care to residential care. The services are sixty five percent provided by non-profit organizations such as community groups, charitable and religious organizations, while government and private sector operators provide thirty five percent of residential aged care services. There has been a shift towards provision of home-based care services away from the residential care, due to preferences of the elderly and government support. The shift to home based care is however a recipe for challenges since the elderly may not be able to access therapy and recreational services. It is on this context that The Australian Capital Territory Always Young (ACTAY) is formed to offer several physiotherapy, recreational and entertainment services, to the elderly citizens of the Australian Capital Territory, whether they are under home-based care services or under residential care. The Australian Capital Territory Always Young (ACTAY) is intentioned to develop an archetype project that can be duplicated in the entire country. Considering that the Community care includes home nursing and day centre activities, intensive care packages, domestic help, transport and home-delivered meals. The community-based care programs are mutually funded and administered by the Commonwealth, states and territories, with some contribution by the care recipients. The varied community care options targeted by the project include the elderly under several packages such as Day Therapy Centres (DTCs), Veteran’s Home Care; Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) Packages, Community Aged Care Packages (CACPs) and Home and Community Care (HACC). The project shall be funded by the care recipients, and the commonwealth government. The funds provided are envisioned to be utilised for diverse functions such as sourcing for recreational facilities, recruiting, sourcing and maintaining the human resource, operational functions and transportation of the elderly to social places where they can interact and be entertained. The project shall not work in isolation, but shall be managed in harmony with the already existing programs caring for the elderly at Australian Capital Territory. The project shall be managed by a Board of directors, however day to day operations shall be administered by the manager, assistant manager and the chief strategist. The manager shall run the project in consultation with the board of directors, representatives of the elderly and representatives of the government. The duties of the manager are diverse and includes Overall supervisor of the business, assigning and co-coordinating duties to the rest of the team, solve problems related to the project and the project team, chairing all meetings and formal project meetings. These duties shall be performed by the assistant manager in the absence of the manager. The chief strategist shall be responsible for ensuring that the strategic objectives of the project are realised. The responsibilities of the strategist include recommending cost saving methods, sources for more clients, performance appraisal and seeking strategic competitive advantage. 2.0 BACKGROUND 2.1 Target group In the country, the percentage of elderly persons from diverse backgrounds has been steadily growing. The identified target persons consist of all the persons aged more than sixty years residing in the Australian Capital Territory in Australia and Its environs. The target members are persons with capacity to pay the annual subscription fee and any other charges that may be levied for services offered. The targets are elderly persons of both genders who are willing and ready to take part in various recreational activities. The project is founded on the basis that whereas most of the residents of Australian Capital Territory are young, a significant percentage of nearly 10 % of the population is aged over 65 years. The development of social facilities for the elderly in the country has not been as dynamic as the changes in population; consequently, the elderly persons have been secluded to a live of loneliness, in terms of social aspect. The elderly persons are relatively less active physically; therefore, they tend to have relatively fewer friends. Moreover, the limited number of social amenities has condemned the persons to living in seclusion and solitude. The persons targeted by the project consider that Always Young is a revolutionary business that offers entertainment based social services to the elderly persons in Australia. The business in modelled on customer consciousness concept, where the individualised needs of the customers are considered, and services tailored to suit every client. 2.2 Needs and Issues The government and community based organizations have made several steps in meeting the social and healthcare concerns of the elderly. The recreational and entertainment concerns of the elderly have however been given less significant consideration. The elderly face diverse challenges. Whereas a good percentage of the elderly lead healthy and empowered lives, some have to be supported in terms of social care and financially. The elderly have health concerns, being more prone to illness, with several being on medications which are expensive and are physically frail. Retirees and pensioners alike have various challenges related to recreation, and the need for company. Whereas the elderly can access care at their homes, an overlooked construct is the recreational needs of such persons. Moreover in rural areas and in some places, such services may be non-existent. Moreover, elderly persons with financial challenges may not be able to access such services while availability is also a challenge in nursing homes since the facilities may not receive enough government funding.  The elderly also have psychological and mental challenges associated with being in the same place for a long time. Elderly persons have been depressed due to monotony and repetitive nature of their lives, where there wake up to the same live daily. Moreover, even those who afford to access recreational facilities, there are limited recreational facilities and entertainment places at the Australian Capital Territory, dedicated to serving the elderly. Customised recreational services for the elderly are limited, and the pension paid to the elderly, may not afford them such specialised recreational services. The physical health issues for the elderly are usually the exhibited challenge. With the incidence of diseases being directly proportional to age, some of the health challenges are associated with lack of exercise. The common diseases related with exercising and movement include the heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia which affect the personality and memory and Arthritis and osteoporosis which impact on the physical structure and movement. The mental health is also an issue for the elderly, especially depression. The elderly who are lonely and isolated are more likely to contemplate suicide, since depression is assumed to be normal in most cases, and is left untreated. Moreover, nursing homes who offer comprehensive care with recreational services are extremely expensive, with long waiting lists. In some instances, the elderly are abused or neglected, hence pushing them further to mental problems. In some poorly run nursing homes, the elderly are rarely entertained or engage in social activities, since the nurses use restraints or sedative medications on patients who don’t require them, to keep them bed-bound. 2.3 Assets and Strengths The project is envisioned to serve the elderly who are both in their homes and those in nursing homes. A key strength in the project is sourcing of facilities at wholesale prices, and translating the benefits to the elderly such that they are able to access the services at affordable rates. The services shall be competitively priced, depending on the prevailing economic conditions and the competition environment. Clients shall choose the membership subscription they desire, and this shall determine the price. Annual membership fee shall be twenty dollars, while half-yearly fee shall be fifteen dollars. Members who desire quarterly and temporary membership shall pay ten dollars. These are lower than what is charged by the recreational facilities, if an individual members register. The strength of the project is that the elderly can still enjoy the services of the Australian Capital Territory Always Young (ACTAY), without necessarily staying at nursing homes, this gives the elderly various benefits such as enjoying the freedom of staying in their homes, and continuing with their lives. The strength also is that the recreational facilities and activities are varied, while the elderly are given the independence to make choices on what they would like to engage in. Moreover, the project gives the elderly the chance to contribute to the community, through engaging in community development activities, and knowledge passing, at their own pleasure and leisure. 2.4 Project Rationale Whereas there are several entertainment sports in Australian Capital Territory, few serve the interests of the elderly. The entertainment and care of the elderly in Australia is governed by several legal and regulatory provisions. A comprehensive coverage of aged care support and services is outlined at chapter six of Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australia's Welfare 2001. The Aged Care in Australia through the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing offers an overview of the aged care system in Australia. The past statistical reports on ageing are contained in the Productivity Commission, Report on Government Services 2003, which in addition provides comprehensive data on aged care services across Australia. Most of the reposts however, provide little information for the provision of entertainment services to the elderly. The Seniors Portal site for consumers, professionals and community members in the Commonwealth Government, provides suggestive content on entertainment of the elderly through online search for care related government and agency information services and policies. 3.0 PROJECT PLAN 3.1 Project Aim The project aims at providing dynamic customer oriented products and services, for the elderly clients and at all times shall be responsive to the needs of the consumers. It is intended to provide the residents of Australian Capital Territory and surrounding areas superior elderly people’s entertainment and related services. The objective is to provide affordable services through having minimal overhead costs, aggressive marketing, online payment options and employing multi-skilled staff. Always young aims to offer quality differentiated products and services to suit the specific needs of different customers, as well as ensuring that it is involved in community services, while offering a wide selection of products and services, and creating an all inclusive client base for the elderly as presented by Kerzner, (2009) and Kimmons, (1989). 3.2 Objectives and strategies The project is strategically implemented as a prototype, which can be duplicated and implemented in the entire country, to serve the elderly. Objective 1: To develop a wide array of social, recreational, entertainment and physical activities which are safe and beneficial to the elderly mentally and physically, to enable the elderly exercise and be entertained. Objective 2: To create linkages with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, community based organizations, interest groups, societies, groups and private sector operators in order to provide comprehensive, and all round care to the elderly citizens Objective 3: To educate the elderly, caretakers as well as the concerned stakeholders on the benefits of recreational, social and educational activities to the elderly. Objective 4: To provide the elderly with authentic educational, entertaining and quality experiences, by enabling them to travel affordable to places of interest, such as tourist destinations, and enabling the elderly to interact by creating opportunities for them to meet in an unstructured, spontaneous manner such as through participation in local festivals and events, sporting activities for the elderly and visits to institutions, schools and organizations. Objective 5: To provide a conducive environment to enable harnessing of the diverse knowledge, experiences of the elderly, while enabling the elderly, to participate interestingly in Community develop activities. 3.3 Performance Indicators Ultimately the metric used to gauge the realization of the project objectives is the enhancement and improvement of the living standards of the elderly persons in Australian Capital Territory. This shall be measured vis-à-vis enhanced physical and mental satisfaction of the elderly, as well as appreciation of the elderly as important persons in the society, Sally & Fiona, (1999). The medium term performance metrics are quantifiable measurements that reflect the project’s critical success. The performance indicators shall include the number of elderly persons assisted during the year. Another important metric is the number of activities the elderly engage, the efficiency of the project in terms of resource utilization, and the effectiveness of the organization in achieving its objectives of in promoting the health of the elderly persons Francis and Arthur, (1999). The number of persons registering for the project, as well as the number of organizations and the extent of support is also a vital performance indicator, Ian and Sally, (2007). 3.4 Timeline and Implementation Plan The project shall be implemented in phases Phase Task Timeframe Data collection This shall involve pre-establishment tasks such as :- Collection of data from different sources Preparation of reports, summaries and key information sources on the elderly persons at ACT Analysis of the data Dissemination of data to the stakeholders Presenting of data to government agencies to permit implementation of the project Publication and maintenance of an agreed methodology Project establishment Resource Mobilization Infrastructure preparation Establishing contacts with stakeholders Project teams formation Project plan detailing and fine tuning Key Users Team formation. Project objectives, vision and vision communicated to stakeholders Post implementation review & Evaluation Project objectives realization review Service effectiveness and efficiency examination Development of regular reports Strategic review of objectives and timeframes Dissemination of project findings and recommendations 3.5 Ethical issues There are various ethical constructs which are pertinent to the project objectives. The issues are identified by the key phrases that describe the system of ethical protections that the project shall adhere to. The project shall consider the principle of voluntary participation, where the elderly persons shall not be coerced into participating in project. According to Diane, (1998), elderly persons may have several problems, hence the project shall guarantees the elderly confidentiality, and hence their information shall not be availed to any persons, not directly involved in the project. The project shall also seek to have informed consent, where the elderly shall be required to give their consent before they participate, since they should also be informed about the risks and procedures involved due to their advanced age. The project shall however make every effort to ensure that the activities that the elderly engage in have minimal risks, therefore in concurrency with ethical standards, the possibilities of risk of harm shall be reduced, since the participants shall not be put in a situation where they may be at risk of harm, as a result of engaging in Always Young recreational activities, in this case the harm is defined to be both physical and psychological harm, Turner, (1999). Another important ethical consideration is the right of service, where the elderly persons shall not be discriminated against in the provision of the services. Cumulatively, the ethical considerations are envisioned to ensure that the project not only conform to the legal and regulatory requirements, but also conform to social and ethical expectations. 3.6 Monitoring and Evaluation Plan The project shall gain substantial funding from the commonwealth as well as concerned Non Governmental organizations; hence the project is expected to attain its objectives of improving the living standards of the elderly, through social, recreational and entertainment. The project shall therefore be open for independent audit and evaluation. Orientation Essentially, the evaluation shall serve the purpose of appraising the effects of the implementation of the project at the Australian Capital Territory, so as to critically evaluate the justification of implementing the project in other places in the country. This shall be based on utilizing the objectives based and impact evaluation methodology to examine the achievement of the stated opined by Lock, (2007) and Mochal, (2007). 3.7 Audiences for the evaluation In order to evaluate the progress of the project, several audiences shall be the subject of evaluation. These include the Board of Governors for Australian Capital Territory Always Young (ACTAY), the top management including the manager, the assistant management and the chief strategist, the funding organizations, government regulatory bodies, and the Non-governmental organization assisting the project. Moreover, the elderly who are members and non members of the Australian Capital Territory Always Young (ACTAY) shall also be audiences. Primary questions The essential questions to be addressed by the evaluation include: Where the aims and objectives of the project practically achievable? Where the allocated timelines achieved? Where any alterations made in the course of the project implementation? Did the alterations made impact on the project outcomes? Did any un-envisioned outcome result from the project? Is the project justifiable in terms of effort and cost, to substantiate replication? Is there need to alter the project objectives and performance indicators? Data management The project shall adopt a pragmatic data collection approach, where both quantitative and qualitative data shall be collected. The pragmatic approach is warranted by the need for qualitative and quantitative data to complement each other, as presented by Baker, et al. (2003). The quantitative data shall be sourced from weekly reports, activity records as well as performance indicators. The qualitative data shall be sourced from the reports about the project in the mass media, interviews, staff notes, site visits and surveys, Muhamed, (2010) . Monitoring The monitoring shall be done through continuous improvement through learning from continuous experience, Greer, (2002). The monitoring of the project shall entail performance improvement, monitoring of operations, control of project’s resources, support for strategic decision and enhanced management decision-making, Kimmons, (1989). The project shall be monitored to ensure that it conforms to its core function, so as to attain the objectives. Dissemination The information collected through data collection methodologies shall be dissemination to the primary, secondary audiences and to the interested parties and all the stakeholders. The opinions and reactions shall be considered as the project progresses. Budget and timeline The project depends financially on the assistance offered by the Commonwealth and the Non-governmental organizations. These have different budgetary accounting procedures. The audits shall be contacted on annual basis by independent and accredited audit organizations. Moreover, legal and regulatory reports shall be prepared and presented as and when needed. References Baker, Sunny et al. (2003). Complete Idiots Guide to Project Management. New York, Alpha Books. Diane Gibson (1998). Aged care: old policies, new problems, Cambridge Cambridge University Press Francis Caro and Arthur Blank. (1999). Quality Impact of Home Care for the Elderly. New York, Routledge. Gabrielle Meagher. (2009). Paid Care in Australia: Politics, Profits, Practices. Sydney, Sydney University Press, Greer, M. (2002). The Project Manager's Partner: A Step-By-Step Guide To Project Management. New York, AMACOM. Greer, Michael. (2002) The project manager's partner: a step-by-step guide to project management. New York, AMACOM. Ian Norman, and  Sally Redfern. (2007). Mental health care for elderly people. Sydney, Elsevier Health Sciences. Kerzner, H. (2009). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons. Kimmons, R. (1989) Project Management: A Reference for Professionals. London, CRC Press. Kimmons, Robert. (1989) Project management: a reference for professionals. London, CRC Press. Lock, D. (2007) Project Management. Hampshire, Gower Publishing. Mochal, T. (2007) Lessons in Project Management. New York ,Apress. Muhamed, Abdomerovic. (2010) Brainstorming the PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition: The Complete Reference for Relating and Chronologically Sequencing Process Inputs and Outputs. Panama, PM Publications. Sally Redfern and Fiona Ross. (1999). Nursing older people, Amsterdam. Elsevier Health Sciences Turner, Rodney. (1999) The Handbook of Project-Based Management. Chicago, McGraw-Hill. Read More