Start Right: Green Light Framework
The Green Light Framework below lets you record the things you learned during the Exploration phase.
The Framework can be used to seek agreement and authorisation, and should be iterated over time as required. Getting the Green Light means your policy project can proceed in earnest. The Start Right Guidance document has more information on the Exploration phase and when to use this document.
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Start Right: Green Light Framework#
The Green Light Framework below lets you record the things you learned during the Exploration phase. The Framework can be used to seek agreement and authorisation, and should be iterated over time as required. Getting the Green Light means your policy project can proceed in earnest. The Start Right Guide has more information on the Exploration phase and when to use this document.
The Green Light point should occur soon after the Start Right Exploration has been performed. It's the point where the people commissioning the work, and the managers and teams undertaking the work agree on the main details.
The Green Light Framework is designed for:
- smaller policy projects (in which the Framework is a guide to the things that should be known or agreed at the Green Light point)
- medium sized policy projects (in which the Framework should inform the development of fit-for-purpose documentation within your context, such as a project mandate or project brief).
For larger projects, consider using your agency’s formal project management framework or tools.
Clarify the opportunity and our definition of success#
- The context, scope and purpose of the policy project
- The desired outcome from the work, and the people that will benefit (or lose out)
- What has been done before, and what has been done elsewhere
- The rationale for government action, and for the timing of that action
- The role of other actors in the system – inside and outside of government
- Data and evidence of the scale and distribution of the issue, and its drivers or root causes
- The levers that will make the right impact
What we think today |
What we will do from here |
---|---|
(Starting hypothesis or initial information) |
(The processes or investigations we’ll undertake to verify assumptions, conduct analysis and generate a policy proposal) |
Analyse the situation and the options#
- The way we will seek to understand or analyse the situation; the analytical framework and rationale
- Other analytical frameworks available, and when we might need to employ them
- The mandatory approaches that apply in our circumstances (e.g. Regulatory impact analysis)
- The appetite for risk and innovation amongst decision makers for this initiative
- The impacts on project approach, quality, skills, resources, and timeframes related to different methods
What we think today |
What we will do from here |
---|---|
(Starting hypothesis or initial information) |
(The processes or investigations we’ll undertake to verify assumptions, conduct analysis and generate a policy proposal) |
Validate our thinking and planned approach#
- The plan for who we will test our views and assumptions with, and how to manage sensitivities
- Views of partner agencies, affected stakeholders and interested parties
- The delivery or value chain, and the parties within it
- How we might change our thinking or processes based on validation and testing activities
- Our approach to validation and testing, and the way we will leverage and build our relationships
What we think today |
What we will do from here |
---|---|
(Starting hypothesis or initial information) |
(The processes or investigations we’ll undertake to verify assumptions, conduct analysis and generate a policy proposal) |
Influence and implement to create the conditions for agreement and success#
- The views of decision makers and key influencers, the basis for their choices, and their criteria for success
- The stakeholders or groups that need to support or agree to the change, and how that will be determined
- The operational impact of policy options (if known), and any wider operational ramifications, including the engagement of operational staff in the design of the initiative
- The long-term implications of policy choices (if known)
- The indicators that will show performance and impact, and the way performance data will be used to adjust and refine the policy
- The way that evaluation or new evidence will inform this policy and future policies
What we think today |
What we will do from here |
---|---|
(Starting hypothesis or initial information) |
(The processes or investigations we’ll undertake to verify assumptions, conduct analysis and generate a policy proposal) |
Deliver the policy project and make a difference#
- The key milestones and timeframes and the mandatory steps along the way
- The scope of the initiative or policy question, and the resources required
- The commitment and responsibilities of all other contributing parties
- The way the project will be governed and how decisions will be made
- The skills and capabilities we have, and the plan for how we’ll bridge any gaps
- The way acceptance, implementation, risk and change will be managed
- The way we are incorporating lessons from previous policy projects
- The best approach to ensure quality throughout, and the role of quality coaches
- The next opportunity to check in to ensure this Green Light remains valid
What we think today |
What we will do from here |
---|---|
(Starting hypothesis or initial information) |
(The processes or investigations we’ll undertake to verify assumptions, conduct analysis and generate a policy proposal) |