Our Work
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The Nous Group is a smart, vibrant and nimble management consultancy that assists individuals and organisations to maximise their performance.
Recent case studies
Organisational capability
State government health department – Board governance and leadership effectiveness
Client
The rural health division of a large state government health department, involving some 130 separate funded agencies across the state.
Challenge
The department identified that it could facilitate a substantial improvement in the performance and sustainability of the state’s regional health system by improving the effectiveness of governance and leadership of the Boards of Management (BOM) of agencies that form the system. It recognised that:
- There is great diversity of capability across the BOMs and among the individual BOM members
- The character of BOMs varies widely, with some operating like Boards of large public companies with comparable challenges, while others are more akin to committees of management.
Solution
In response to the department’s challenge, Nous developed an innovative Rural Health Boards of Management (RHBOM) Development Program, which focused on meeting the development needs of rural health board members.
To ensure the program was relevant and dealt effectively with all areas of health services, Nous undertook an intense needs‑analysis involving board members, health service CEOs, department staff and stakeholders. The results were used to inform the design and delivery of the program.
The program consisted of two one‑and‑a‑half‑day workshops run six weeks apart, plus self‑paced learning, and was supported by a website that provided bespoke reading and learning.
The following topics were covered in the program: governance roles, legal frameworks, clinical governance, health system trends, issues and challenges, strategy and health agency capability, financial oversight, board effectiveness, shaping stakeholder relationships, ethical dilemmas and sustainable governance more generally. The program was built around a simple governance model that focused Boards on conformance and performance requirements.
The program commenced in March 2003 and runs until March 2006. Over the three years, 52 workshops will be held and 1248 participants will complete the program. Nous is responsible for the coordination and management of participant registrations and correspondence before, during and after the program. As the Board member position is voluntary, and most members are employed in fulltime roles, the program is configured to minimise the amount of time people need to spend out of their workplace.
The program is evaluated at three levels - workshop effectiveness, individual learning and transfer of learning into improved Board practices. On all of these measures the program has delivered very strong results, meeting with wide acclaim from participants.
Outcome
- Clarification of the roles and accountabilities of Board members in providing effective governance of their agencies
- Development of individual Board members capacity to:
- Understand the governance challenges that flow from the health system in which their agencies operate
- Understand how best to provide strategic direction
- Understand how to drive better performance and manage risk.
- Strengthened the capacity of Boards to operate as high performing teams
- Improved how Boards work with their management team
- Provision of networking opportunities between Boards.
Case Study by service
Leadership & people development- Aligning leadership capabilities with business objectives
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- The Spirit of Success Program
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- State government central agency
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- State government health department performance review
- Whole of Victorian Government ICT strategy and work program
- Performance management for senior managers
- Customer relationship management plan
- State government health department – Board governance and leadership effectiveness
- Future leaders’ strategy
- A strategy to guide the development of a new intranet for all staff
- Performance improvement for industrial distributor
- Email adoption strategy
- HR redesign
- Workforce capability, structure and resourcing review
Strategy & public policy- Release of Queensland Marginal Abatement Cost Curve
- Development of a 20 year vision document and consultation plan
- Wedges: Understanding the Potential to Reduce Victoria’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions - The Nous Group Report to the Victorian Government, 2007
- Building an award winning industry and community partnership.
- Analysis of the HACC - Disability Services program interface
- Crime prevention strategy
- Business reorientation through strategy and planning
- Scenario planning
- Executive accountability and leadership
- A business case to support infrastructure development
- Supported residential services program: management review
- Strategic direction
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