Service Development Project: Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating a Healthcare Improvement Initiative HLSM7012

Module assignment instructions

Choosing a project

The Service Development Project is a module that forms a compulsory element of the award of a masters degree in your chosen healthcare discipline. Therefore, the choice of topic should be relevant to your area of practice and agreed with your subject specialist supervisor prior to commencement.

It is essential that you ensure anonymity or confidentiality of individuals/ organisations within the submission. Failure to do so will result in an automatic referral (see UH Confidentiality Policy).

As with all work at masters level, you should aim for critical depth at all stages. Overall, you must ensure that you present a coherent argument which demonstrates integration and synthesis of a wide range of source materials and theoretical concepts. You are required to consult a range of sources which must be acknowledged by following the School of Life and Medical Science referencing guidelines (on Canvas).

Structure of the project

There are 3 key parts to this assignment which are described in detail below:

(1) Executive Summary: (250 words)

This should provide a brief summary of all aspects of your project proposal and should make sense if read separately to the rest of your project plan. The Executive Summary is often used to gain approval for project implementation by senior managers who have no previous knowledge of the project so it is vital that it is concise and that it clearly states what the project is about and why it should be implemented. Write this section as if it were being read by someone who has no expertise in this field.

Consider the following when writing the executive summary:

• Overall aim of the project and intended outcomes;

• Rationale for project;

• Overview of implementation strategy;

• Overview of project evaluation;

(2) Part One: Project Plan (60% weighting) (2750 words)

2.1 Project Preparation Template: there is a template on Canvas that you should use. This provides an outline to the project and should include:

• A project title and overall aim for your project;

• Background to the project to include:

Rationale

• Your professional role, area and context of practice, interest in the topic area;

• Current healthcare provision locally in relation to your topic

• Identification of deficiencies in current service provision

Drivers

• What is the local/national situation with regards to your project topic?

• What are the financial implications/service implications for your topic?

• How might any anticipated benefits improve health outcomes for patients?

(all the above should be supported by relevant literature)

Impact on stakeholders

• Specify project objectives and expected outcomes (measurable deliverables).

These should written for the different stages of the project: early, middle and final. Ensure that the number of objectives and outcomes are appropriate for the scope of your project, you are strongly recommended to limit the objectives and outcomes to 3 per each stage of the project (no more than 9 overall)

Use template 1 for your project preparation

2.2 Identifying strengths and weaknesses: Select a recognised business/project analysis tool, e.g. SWOT

• Briefly discuss the reasons for your choice of tool and how the process of completing the analysis tool will inform your project plan.

• Illustrate your analysis using a table and bullet points.

• Complete this section with a brief statement of the key issues that:

• (a) this exercise has highlighted;

• (b) that would be useful for you to consider when planning the rest of the project.

Use template 2 for your SWOT analysis

2.3 Project delivery steps

This section should start off with brief introduction to your table. There is a copy of the template for the table that you should use on Canvas. The table requires you to document your outcomes and then determine the issues related to these outcomes and the strategies and tactics that you will use to achieve the outcomes. In the final column please mention the appropriate evaluation strategy that you intend to use.

Use template 4 for your project delivery steps

2.4 Planning for evaluation: assessing project performance

2.4.1 Introduction to Evaluation

In this section you must explain what evaluation is and why it is critical as part of a health care change project. You should refer here to the literature on undertaking evaluation in a healthcare environment highlighting the specific challenges involved. Reference to particular models will help to enhance this section.

2.4.2 Logic diagram

Refer to the logic diagram that you developed as part of your formative work. Explain why a logic diagram can be useful when planning your evaluation strategy including a discussion of the difference between process and impact evaluation.

Use template 3 for your logic diagram

2.4.3 Evaluation strategy

Taking the outcomes that you feel are most critical for the project, give further detail about your evaluative strategy and identify specific evaluation tools, explaining why you have chosen them and what the evidence base for them is.

2.5 Dissemination strategy

You must explain how you propose to disseminate the outcomes of your project. You should consider here why dissemination is important within a project, who you feel it is appropriate to disseminate to and what methods you would use for each of the stakeholder groups.

2.6 Summary

This should include a couple of sentences briefly summarising part one and making a link to part 2.

(3) Part Two: Change and leadership for successful project implementation (40% weighting) (2000 words)

3.1.Change

Explore relevant theoretical ideas with regards to change. You should use a variety of perspectives and draw from relevant literature. Consider how this theory is reflected in various change models. Select one model that you would like to use to deliver your project. Create a table detailing the relevant project steps and explain how you will use each of these steps to help the delivery your project, making reference to the strategies and tactics outlined in your project steps, where appropriate. By applying your chosen model to your specific project you will demonstrate an understanding of the relevant theory.

Use template 5 to create your change model table

3.2 Leadership

In order for the project to work you would need to demonstrate leadership skills. You should explore the theories around leadership styles and discuss the style of leadership that you think would optimise outcomes for your project. You must then reflect on your own leadership style and discuss how you would use this to ensure the best project outcomes.

3.3 Teamwork

Consider the team that you would need to carry out your project. Identify the team members and what roles you would expect them to undertake. Look at literature around team structure and team roles and apply this to your team situation. You should also reflect on how your particular leadership style works with team members.

3.4 Conclusion

The project should close with a brief conclusion outlining what you have learnt from undertaking this project and what if anything you would do differently. If there is scope for further evaluation beyond the time frame of the project, you should consider these in your conclusion.. This is also your opportunity to mention further project ideas that you might have as a consequence of undertaking this work.

Coursework Submission Guidelines

These instructions must be used to format all written work.

• All written work must be typed in Ariel font size 12 and use 1.5 line spacing, submitted as a single word document;

• Work should be page numbered;

• Text within tables does not count towards the final word count;
  
  

• Tables with more than two columns should be displayed in landscape, the rest of the document in portrait;

• Include a reference list of in-text citations, compliant with the referencing guidelines of the School of Life & Medical Sciences.

• Your coursework will be submitted electronically via Canvas. It is therefore important to ensure that you are properly registered on the module at commencement otherwise you will experience difficulty uploading your coursework.

• When submitting coursework online via Canvas, you are not required to download a front sheet. It is however good practice to create your own front page with your name and student number, the name of the module and the title of your assignment

• Part one and part two must be uploaded separately as two word documents. The submission portal clearly indicates where to upload each part.

• References should appear at the end of Part 2 followed by the appendices