Setting up a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub: A Project Management Report

Guidance for completing the individual report

The Director of Social Services has tasked you to set up a new Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) in your city to bring key professionals together  to safeguard vulnerable children and young people (CYP) more effectively. Some of the CYP referred to the hub will be in urgent need (eg neglect and physical abuse), whereas other CYP will need other types of support.     

The new service will involve staff from health, social work, the police, education, and probation professionals. You will need to identify a new base in the city centre and consider how you will refurbish the office and move staff to the new location. There are a number of open plan offices available in the city centre, but each one will require some refurbishment. You will need appropriate space for the different teams. You are responsible for identifying the building, refurbishment, and transfer of staff and equipment to the new site. You have 6 months from the start to finish of the project and a budget of £75,000.

Guidance for completing the individual report

Each student is required to submit an individual report of 3200 words (NOT including the project management diagrams – see below).The work will be assessed according to the marking matrix below* and in accordance with the Faculty of Business and Law Grade Descriptors on below.

Students must ensure that they have covered all learning outcomes for the module in their work.  

What to put in the report

1. PESTLE analysis
2. Work Breakdown Structure
3. Gantt chart

Describe, critically evaluate and discuss the application of each of the three tools you have chosen to the case scenario. This means you must introduce and describe each tool; explain how the tool is applied to the chosen case study in practice: and critically evaluate each of your chosen tools by assessing the strengths and weaknesses. You are expected to use references to do this.

Draft a diagram for each of the three tools. By diagram we mean the template to be applied. This will be a pictorial representation of each tool drafted by you, pasted alongside the tool. You are not allowed to only cut and paste images taken from the internet (e.g Google images). However, you may use an image on the Net as a basis for your own work and amend it, but you must cite the source and then put ‘amended by author’.

Please note that your diagram is NOT part of the 3200 word count.

The report will be marked using the DMU Postgraduate mark scheme assessment criteria, informed by these rubric criteria which will be used to assess your grade:

Background explanation of the project context, including:

Organisational, human resource, and project team issues

How the project contributes to corporate social responsibility/ public value 20%

Description, critical evaluation and application of chosen project management tools 45% (2000 words)

Conclusions and recommendations for the project 15%

Use of appropriate academic literature and project management theory to exemplify key points and arguments 10%

Demonstration of good academic practice skills, through a fully referenced and professionally presented report 10%

It is important that you use a wide range of references in your report, to underpin your choice of tool and to show the relationship between project management practice and theory. Many of the references in the handbook and on the Resource List will be helpful. You will also find many useful web pages on project management tools on the internet and you are welcome to use these, but you must cite them correctly. You must use Harvard referencing in your report.

It is not acceptable to only use web pages and you must also provide a good balance of academic literature (journal articles/books), ‘grey’ literature (policy documents and documents published by the APM and PMI, for example).