The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) – effective project management for our national nuclear science organisation
At the centre of Australia’s nuclear science capabilities, ANSTO is responsible for delivering specialised advice, products and scientific services to a wide range of government, research and industry bodies.
Annually, ANSTO invests significant funding in a broad range of multi-disciplinary projects encompassing nuclear research, radiological services, engineering, construction and the development and procurement of scientific instrumentation.
To ensure the success of these initiatives, ANSTO identified the need for an organisation-wide project management solution – one which would enable them to ‘do the right projects and do those projects right’. This meant a governance system designed to identify appropriate projects and fund them correctly, ensure their timely delivery in accordance with agreed plans, and ensure transparent reporting throughout. Apis was charged with delivering such a program.
Working closely with ANSTO’s Executive and other key stakeholders, Apis delivered a comprehensive roadmap to change, ensuring buy-in across the organisation. Critical to the success of the project was the development of a project methodology handbook, including a tailored project lifecycle, project governance framework and a suite of tools, templates and processes for project staff.
Apis then implemented the handbook through integrated change management activities including staff training, mentoring and the establishment of an internal Corporate Projects Office.
ANSTO now has an explicit and transparent organisational approach to project governance – one which ensures streamlined and timely deployment, provides for ongoing evaluation of performance and enables efficient and effective decision making.