In February 2021, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy engaged Deepteam to develop the Governance Model for the ‘Matrix’ Portfolio. ‘Matrix Portfolio’ is the name given to an initiative to combine shared services provision across 8 government departments. This complex, multi-year initiative was already taking shape from a vision and scope perspective, but the portfolio team wanted support to accelerate governance and accountability readiness.

Deepteam consists of a network of like-minded individuals who provide expertise in Business Integrated Governance (BIG). One of its founders was lead author on the BIG chapters in the Praxis Framework, and it was clear the Model had many elements available for use in the Matrix Portfolio scenario. Deepteam was contracted to provide:

• Definition of the overall Governance Strategy and model for the cluster portfolio
• Clearly articulated accountability map across the departments within the cluster
• Terms of references for proposed governance forums.
• Escalation and approval thresholds for time, cost, change, risk, and benefits.
• Working with the BEIS programme team to establish the approach to business cases.
• Defined assurance processes.

This work was carried out after a fast start up and at a fast pace to support Department expectations. Initially, we gained understanding of current state and expectations through background reading, group discussion and workshops. From there, we shared good governance design principles and proposed a high-level strategic governance framework which included potential portfolio roles and governance accountabilities (the core of our work, and the core of the principles taken from BIG). With the governance framework outlined, it was possible to create terms of reference for each accountability component, and offer each backbone standing agendas. Work remained (at time of writing) to derive information needs and thence Portfolio data model, and thence the information management regime across the departmental participants.

As the Matrix Portfolio is to provide a shared services platform, much delivery is common, with transformation and some benefit delivery being department specific. Hence, a pragmatic approach and timetable to business case development and approval was proposed to enable effective oversight but to provide a faster process than normal to deal with pressing department needs and necessary interfaces with key stakeholders. We covered options for Portfolio delivery shape which led to approvals and related escalations, funding and tolerances recommendations.

Work was undertaken to frame the assurance regime, with further work necessary to develop specifics once the final Portfolio scope, business cases and operating model are finalised. Next Steps are pending Portfolio direction decisions.

Zoe Kitchener, Governance lead on the Matrix Portfolio from BEIS says “the Matrix Portfolio is complex and its governance and assurance regime must span departmental boundaries. Our team needed a burst of expertise to help us make ready for the work to come.”

David Dunning, Deepteam says, “We believe that by adding the BIG model wrapper to our traditional governance and assurance expertise, we are able to offer organisations a fast solution to scenarios that conventional wisdom does not have an off the shelf answer to – especially in relation to governance framework, accountability mapping, data modelling and translation to information management for complex cross domain initiatives.”

Find out more about Deepteam and using a BIG model to simplify your connection of strategy to delivery here.