Relationship with SUMP guidelines

As for all the harmonization process, the actual implementation of this step crucially depends on the starting context – i.e. whether the city has, is developing or intends to develop a SUMP.

According to the individual situation, the SIMPLA guidelines interact with the SUMP guidelines in a specific and more definite way. That is to say that, since SUMP guidelines describe the process to develop a (new) SUMP where one does not exist, in case the situation falls into one of the other two general categories (existing SUMP or at some point in its development), the instructions and suggestions contained in the SUMP guidelines may be used to adjust and fine-tune the plan towards harmonization with a SECAP.

Looking at the SUMP guidelines, Step 2.2.3 is connected to Phase 1 ‘Preparing well’ - ‘Step 2: Define the development process and scope of plan’ - Activity 2.4 ‘Agree on work plan and management arrangements’, as well as Phase III ‘Elaborating the plan’ respectively in Step 7 ‘Agree on clear responsibilities and allocate funding’, Activity 7.1 ‘Assign responsibilities and resources’, Activity 7.2 ‘Prepare an action and budget plan’ and Step 8 ‘Build Monitoring and assessment into the plan’ - Activity 8.1: Arrange for monitoring and evaluation

Relationship with SECAP guidelines

Development of a work plan for a SEAP/SECAP is addressed to in the guidelines ‘How to develop a Sustainable Energy Action Plan Guidebook part I’, chapters 1.1 (process) and 1.5 (financial resources).

The work plan for the harmonization of SECAP and SUMP should be developed to address all objectives and targets, detailing how and when they are to be met. A clear structure will subsequently facilitate monitoring the progress towards meeting the objectives and achieving the targets. The action plan should include schedules, resources and responsibilities, yet it should be flexible enough to be revised if necessary to reflect the evolution of objectives and targets.

Based on the analyses done in the chapter ‘Initial assessment’ the opportunities for harmonization are identified and a corresponding work plan to exploit them should be designed. The following table lists potential areas for harmonization between the procedures to develop a SECAP and SUMP and potentially applicable activities for harmonization in the work plan (Table 3).

A monitoring plan should be part of the work plan, because a monitoring plan provides the process of the systematic approach to assess the impact of implemented measures and to evaluate the performance indicators set in the plan. The monitoring plan outlines the key evaluation and monitoring questions and describes how, which and when monitoring and evaluation activities will be carried out, who is responsible for them, what resources are necessary and who will participate. This helps enable sufficient allocation of resources, avoids unnecessary effort for data collection, improves acceptance and contributes to good project management during the implementation of the harmonization process.

 

How to write a work plan:

 

1. Identify the areas for harmonization

2. Determine your goals and objectives.     

    Goals and objectives relate to results to accomplish through the work plans in SECAPs and SUMPs.

3. Organize your work plan by "SMART" objectives

    Smart targets are:

  • Specific: Describing the desired results in quantitative and qualitative terms which will be clear to that are understood by all stakeholders.
  • Measurable: The current baseline has been measured established by measurements and the desired change is defined. Measurement methods and  resources are in place to monitor the changes that occur
  • Achievable: Goals and objectives are based on the technical, operational and financial competencies available and stakeholder agreements/commitments that have been made
  • Relevant: Most important is to choose targets that matter, that improve urban mobility and that are synchronized with other urban planning targets
  • Time-bound: key dates are given for the achievement of the targets to allow timely monitoring of the desired progress.

 4. List your resources. The work plan includes resources that will be necessary to achieve your goals and objectives. Resources will depend on the purpose of your work plan.

 5. Identify any constraints. Barriers for achieving goals and objectives are identified and corresponding countermeasures defined.

 6. Define who is accountable. Accountability is essential for a good plan. Who is responsible for completing each task? There can be a team of people working on a task (see resources) but one person has to be answerable for the timely completion of a given task.

 7. List specific action steps. Identify what needs to happen to complete your objectives.

 8. Create a schedule. Unexpected problems will happen. Space needs to be built into the schedule to allow for correction.

 

Gantt chart

A Gantt chart is a bar chart representing the sequence of activities in a project schedule. Gantt charts show the start and finish dates of the elements of a
project. Gantt charts also show the dependency between activities. Gantt charts are often used to show the current status of a project using percentcomplete shadings and a vertical today line.

Gantt Project: Free project scheduling and management app for Windows, OSX and Linux.

Download Link: http://www.ganttproject.biz/

 

Expected outputs:
  • Document: work plan for the harmonization process