APM Webinar hosted by the Northern Ireland Branch and presented by Matthew Wallace on 10 March 2021

1. APM | Leicester City Covid-19
Testing Programme
Matthew Wallace BSc (Hons) MBA DipProjMan FRICS
#APM
#Covid-19
#ProjectManagement
#Leicester

2. Agenda
• The Challenge
• Our Approach.. So Far
• Where Next?
• Questions
@Matt_Wallace1

3. The Most Challenging of Projects
Emergency
response
March 23rd 2020
National Lockdown
Leicester’s
population |
Vulnerable
communities
Test to isolate positive cases and
contain the spread
Multi-agency
complex
stakeholders
June 18th 2020
Leicester extended
restrictions
Sensitivity of
communications,
press and media
spotlight
“Sticky” figures
Control Room
Environment
Difficult to test communities

4. Our
Lockdown
Area
Leicester
Urban Area
COVID-19
Extended
restriction

5. Leicester
Urban Area
COVID-19
Increased
Detail

6. Recognise epidemiology and health expertise
in the testing strategy, but:
• Establish a change in governance model
• Move away from an emergency control
room environment into a Programmatic
approach
• Utilise recognised tools and techniques
• Assemble suitable capacity and capability
• Create an operational co-ordination
centre
Our Aporoach
Systematic approach to assigning
& deploying resource

7. Divide and conquer the city
Using established MSOA and LSOA areas

8. Lower
Super
Output
Areas
LSOA

9. A PMO

10. Testing Programme June 2020
Incident
Management
Team
IMT Testing Cell
Direct the testing
strategy
Testing
Programme
Director
In-reach
MTU’s
Outreach
Home kits
Care Homes
Workplace
(Factories)
Health Staff
IMT Epi Cell
Inform PH strategy
Matt
Wallace
Workstreams
Activity / Focus
Data analysis and
insight informing
LSOA areas to
prioritise
Governance
Leads: Tom Lo’Monte
Workstream Project
Manager
Hand delivery of home
test kits using
Volunteer and council
staff
Key considerations for all activity: Multi-Agency response remains as a strategic knowledge group | Community engagement |
Communications | Testing Resource Deployment | Planned deployment of available resource (Employees and circa 500 volunteers)
Leads: Tracie Rees
Workstream Project
Manager
Tests planned &
delivered across city
care homes
Leads: Lorna Simpson
Workstream Project
Manager
Intense door-to
approach using
Hyperlocal MTU’s
Leads
Leads: Kathryn Ellis
Workstream Project
Manager
Tests planned &
delivered across city
workplaces: Factories |
Offices | Retail Etc.
Leads: Alice McGee
(CCG)
Workstream Project
Manager
Tests planned &
delivered across health
staff and essential / key
worker population
PILLAR TWO PILLAR ONE

11. Testing Programme Nov 2020
Incident
Management Team
IMT Testing Cell
Direct the testing
strategy
Testing Programme
Director
Cityreach
Care Homes
Workplace
(Factories) Health Staff
IMT Epi Cell
Inform PH strategy
IMT Outbreak Cell
Inform PH strategy
Matt Wallace
Workstreams
Activity / Focus
Data analysis and
insight informing
LSOA areas to
prioritise
Governance
Leads: Tom Lo’Monte
Workstream Project
Manager
Hand delivery of home
test kits using
Volunteer and council
staff
Key considerations for all activity: Multi-Agency response remains as a strategic knowledge group | Community engagement |
Communications | Testing Resource Deployment | Planned deployment of available resource (Employees and circa 500 volunteers)
Leads: Tracie Rees
Workstream Project
Manager
Tests planned &
delivered across city
care homes
Leads: Tom Lo’Monte
Workstream Project
Manager
Intense door-to
approach using
Hyperlocal MTU’s
Leads
Leads: Kathryn Ellis
Workstream Project
Manager
Tests planned &
delivered across city
workplaces: Factories |
Offices | Retail Etc.
Leads: Alice McGee
(CCG)
Workstream Project
Manager
Tests planned &
delivered across health
staff and essential / key
worker population
PILLAR TWO PILLAR ONE

12. Testing Programme December 2020
Incident
Management Team
IMT Testing Cell
Direct the testing
strategy
Testing Programme
Director
Cityreach
Care Homes
Workplace
(Factories) Health Staff
IMT Epi Cell
Inform PH strategy
IMT Outbreak Cell
Inform PH strategy
Matt Wallace
Workstreams
Activity / Focus
Data analysis and
insight informing
LSOA areas to
prioritise
Governance
Leads: Jo Allen
Workstream Project
Manager
Asymptomatic testing
only – Key workers and
those who cant work
entirely from home
Key considerations for all activity: Multi-Agency response remains as a strategic knowledge group | Community engagement |
Communications | Testing Resource Deployment | Planned deployment of available resource (Employees and circa 500 volunteers)
Leads: Tracie Rees
Workstream Project
Manager
Tests planned &
delivered across city
care homes
Leads: Tom Lo’Monte
Workstream Project
Manager
Intense door-to
approach using
Hyperlocal MTU’s
Leads
Leads: Kathryn Ellis
Workstream Project
Manager
Tests planned &
delivered across city
workplaces: Factories |
Offices | Retail Etc.
Leads: Alice McGee
(CCG)
Workstream Project
Manager
Tests planned &
delivered across health
staff and essential / key
worker population
PILLAR TWO PILLAR ONE
Rapid Testing
Centres

13. Leicester COVID-19 Testing Programme
Project Levels:
Provides a common platform for all to work from & enables
succession planning
Strategic Tactical Operational

14. Leicester COVID-19 Testing Programme
Governance & Operating Model:
1. Agile with ownership throughout
2. A PMO
3. Underpinned by governance and controls (via the PEP)
4. Daily SitRep meetings will now change to Testing Programme
Updates, twice weekly (Monday and Thursdays)
5. Information will be fed up through LCC PH and the IMT and testing
cell
6. Data driven decisions will be fed down through LCC PH, the IMT and
the testing cell into the operational project team
Systematic approach to assigning
& deploying resource
Programme Managed Office

17. The PEP
Include DHSC processes, SoP’s etc. etc. and
then make sure everyone follows it

18. Leicester COVID-19 Testing Programme
Governance:
Project Execution Plan (PEP)
1. Defines the project
2. Sets objectives
3. Outlines how the project is organised
Provides a common platform to work from

19. One version of the testing
plan
Regularly updated | informing and co-ordinating communications,
press and media etc.

20. The Forward Planner Omni-Channel Testing

21. The Forward Planner Omni-Channel Testing

22. The Forward Planner Omni-Channel Testing

23. Leicester
COVID-19
LSOA Area
Mapping
Circa 200
46 priority
23 Hot-
Zone

24. Mapping system
Aurora

25. Leicester City Maps (Aurora) – Web Mapping System
Version created for LCC COVID response - by GIS Team using existing authority software
Interactive mapping
tool providing
evidence for
decision making
For identification,
targeting and
management of
resources
Advantages
• Interactive
• Regularly updated
• Bespoke layers
• Queries and
functions tailored
to requirements
• Replaced paper
printed maps

26. Ability to switch
layers on an off
E.g. Switching on
layers showing case
rates and change by
LSOA – Lower Super
Output area
Version tailored to the COVID response with relevant Map
Layers
Key Layers included
• Wards
• LSOAs
• COVID Case Data (weekly)
• Domestic Properties
• Testing Centres
• Co-ordination Centres
• Council & Community
facilities
• Deprivation

27. Ability to find and zoom into an area on the map
eg by LSOA Name and find further information
Covid 19 statistics supplied by LSOA (smallest area) – very useful
function
Click on
map for
further
information
Type LSOA name in
box and press search.
Results returned for
all records with those
numbers.
User can then select
to zoom in and
highlight the area

28. 1) Find and zoom to an address
2) Run one of queries
Eg find nearest testing centre from
that address
3) List of testing centres returned by order of distance – click one to zoom
in to that location
Number of bespoke queries set up – eg find nearest testing centre

29. Use made of the Corporate Address Gazetteer to identify
and display domestic properties
Useful in deployment of volunteers to show areas of
concentration of domestic properties
Map layers of council and community facilities
Useful to identify potential sites for testing or co-ordination
centres – Sourced from corporate GI database. Eg leisure
centres, neighbourhood centres, libraries etc
Further Mapping Layer Options

30. Community Engagement – local contact details added
Mapping system
used to find
community groups
within localities
These were mapped
from a council
database and then
identified using the
map queries to
contact for
community
engagement in
relation to both
Covid testing and
public information
in their areas

31. Presenting the data

32. 32
Leicester’s CoronavirusTesting Programme
Source: ONS Mortality data
1.8k
3.4k
4.7k
6.0k
7.5k
9.1k
10.6k
12.1k
13.6k
14.9k
16.3k
18.5k
21.3k
23.8k
25.8k
28.4k
30.8k
32.8k
35.4k
38.6k
41.3k
44.9k
48.3k
50.3k
52.9k
58.0k
63.7k
68.4k
72.6k
76.5k
79.4k
81.5k
84.6k
88.3k
91.4k
94.2k
96.9k
99.2k
101.4k
103.8k
107.2k
111.5k
113.1k
114.7k
115.7k
116.7k
119.8k
122.7k
124.3k
125.6k
127.0k
127.6k
128.1k
130.0k
132.3k
133.9k
135.0k
136.0k
136.6k
137.1k
140.6k
141.5k
142.7k
143.5k
144.7k
145.5k
146.0k
148.1k
148.8k
149.1k
149.1k
149.5k
150.1k
150.2k
150.2k
150.3k
151.8k
152.4k
152.9k
153.5k
153.5k
154.8k
0.0k
20.0k
40.0k
60.0k
80.0k
100.0k
120.0k
140.0k
160.0k
180.0k
Cumulative tests undertaken

33. Cumulative Testing

36. Leicester COVID-19Testing Programme
Presenting the data summary:
• Codifying our programme approach
• Enabling the council control and ownership
• Provides clear reporting to the multiple stakeholders
and interested parties
• Provides clear reporting to press and media as
appropriate
• Facilitates multi-agency collaborations
• Enables the Council to continue with a longer term
testing programme
Providing a pragmatic approach to consistent delivery at
pace across multiple workstreams

37. • Succession plan
• Transfer into BAU
• Go back to my day job
• Vaccinations continue
• Rates per 100k and % positivity drops
• New normal way of life emerges
• We test as part of it
• We test in new ways
Where Next?

38. Where Next?
As we move to a new
normal of testing as part
of our daily lives

39. Where Next?

40. • Around 1,000 people a day deployed to
testing programme
• Construction PM skillsets are cross-
transferable
• Understand the burning platform
• Apply strong leadership & governance
• Enjoy being part of the solution
• Create a succession plan and craft an
eloquent exit
• As PM’s we can add value in various
settings
APM Summary

41. Questions
……………………………………………….
@Matt_Wallace1
#APM
#Covid-19
#ProjectManagement
#Leicester