Project Initiation Document Template
This document is an example template of a Project Initiation Document (PID). It can
be used as a starting point which can be adapted specifically for your project. The
example given relates to planning a project around Access to Psychological Therapies
services, but can equally be adapted for any project. The headings should still largely
be applicable to any project. The process of putting together a PID helps to ensure
that all different aspects of a project are considered at the outset, and that those
considerations are documented and held in one place.
Title of Project
PROJECT INITIATION DOCUMENT
Version: <Draft>
<Month Year>
Access to Psychological Therapies
Project Initiation Document: Draft
CONTENTS
Section
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Title
Purpose of the Project Initiation Document
Introduction, Aims and Objectives
Scope
Exclusions
Project Deliverables
Interfaces
Governance
Key Stakeholders and Contact Details
Risks and Mitigation
Project Resource
Roles and Responsibilities
Project Plan
Page
VERSION AND CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT
Configuration History Sheet
Version No. Date
Details of Changes included in Update
Draft
NA
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Project Initiation Document: Draft
1. Purpose of the Project Initiation Document
The purpose of the Project Initiation Document (PID) is to define phase one of the
project, in order to form the basis for its management and an assessment of its overall
success.
The Project Initiation Document has two main purposes:

To ensure a sound basis for the Project Team to progress and;

To provide a single source of reference about the project so that information can
be placed in context and easily found.
2. Introduction, Aims and Objectives
The Scottish Government introduced a HEAT target in relation to current provision of
Psychological Therapies in Scotland in Autumn of 2010. The target set a maximum
waiting time for access to Psychological Therapies of 18 weeks from referral received to
treatment commencement.
This target is set at a time when the NHS in Scotland is facing significant financial
constraints. Therefore, the challenge is to deliver improved access to psychological
therapies within the existing resource constraints whilst not impacting negatively on
clinical outcomes
The aim of this project is to improve access times for psychological therapies for
<number> teams providing Psychological Therapies in <Location>, within their existing
resourcing frameworks and without impacting negatively on clinical outcomes. The
teams will apply Demand, Activity, Capacity and Queue (DCAQ) techniques to improve
access times for psychological therapies.
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Project Initiation Document: Draft
The objectives of phase <one> of the project are to:




carry forward the recommendations from phase <one> of the project;
carry out DCAQ analysis and related service improvement work for <number>
teams providing Psychological Therapies in <location> with the aim of reducing
access times;
embed the skills necessary for DCAQ analysis in <Location>
share learning from this project, inclusive of skills required, across NHS
<location> and with other NHS Boards and;
3. Scope
The scope of this project is to:
Complete DCAQ analysis and associated improvement work already commenced for
<specific Psychological Therapies Services / Teams>.
4. Exclusions
This project will not extend to other teams providing psychological therapies within
<location>.
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5. Project Deliverables
The project deliverables will be:
1. An analysis of DCAQ for each of the services participating in the project which
identifies key opportunities for more effective management of both demand and
existing capacity. The level of analysis will be determined by quality of data
available.
2. An agreed and detailed action plan which identifies tasks that need to be
completed in order to allow for ongoing management of demand and capacity
for the services in scope. The action plan will contain timescales and will identify
who is best placed to lead on each task.
3. Completion of all tasks identified in the action plan above which can be feasibly
delivered during the lifetime of this phase of work.
4. Service improvements for each of the services undertaking DCAQ work have
been implemented and their effectiveness evaluated.
5. An analysis of the non-recurrent costs of the project versus the recurrent
efficiency gains delivered.
6. The skills required to undertake DCAQ work are embedded in <location> going
forward.
6. Interfaces



The project will be aligned with work being carried out in relation to this target
<List the interfaces that this project will have an interface with>
The project will feed in to relevant planning groups…<list>…………….. and shared
learning across the organization.
7. Governance
The project sponsor will be ?
Who will the Project Board be and how frequently will they meet?
How will the Project Team report to the Project Board?
How will the Project Team meet and how frequently?
Who will make up the Project Team for example service leads, Project Manager,
Assistant Psychologist.
Will there be a smaller working group in regular contact to review progress and risks?
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8. Key Stakeholders & Contact Details
Name
Job Title
Contact (email / tel. no)
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9. Risks and Mitigation
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING ARE PROVIDED AS EXAMPLES
ONLY– YOU NEED TO ASSESS YOUR OWN PROJECT RISKS
Risk
Lack of good quality data from internal IT
systems to carry out the analysis
Data collected in different ways to different
definitions may impact on integrity of analysis
Developmental time to get data to standard
may be longer than project lifespan allows
Lack of engagement of key clinical staff
Current management structures or split lines
of accountability between different
professional groups result in barriers to
progressing agreed actions
Key members of project team leave during or
after the project
Risk Control
 Early engagement with the individuals needed to
amend and provide the data
 Work with teams to agree a common set of
definitions and processes for recording data
prior to data collection and analysis
 Assess availability and quality of data at
beginning of project so can quickly identify if
need to adjust timescales of project, pull in more
resource, or update scope of project
 Appoint a clinical lead for the project and agree
ownership and reporting responsibilities
 Ensure that the clinical team are involved in
agreeing key changes for testing
 Use external senior clinicians as appropriate to
re-enforce case for change and benefits of
change
 Project Board takes overall accountability and
will ensure decisions are made where there are
differing viewpoints between key stakeholders



Lack of capacity to progress project locally due
to competing priorities and the demands of
service delivery. This may also include supply
of data and modification of system.


Ensure clear mechanisms in place for sharing
information and skills across project team and
organisation
Develop capacity of project team and other
individuals in key skills (eg DCAQ) throughout
the course of the project
Ensure work done by assistant has continuity
plan and skills are passed on as required
Regular 1:1 meetings between programme
manager and key postholders to agree priorities
and adjust workload accordingly
Identify IT input in advance, timepoints where
data is likely to be requested, what data is
required, and agree timescales and work
required by IT team to support delivery
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10. Project Resource
The following resources will be invested to enable delivery of the project outcomes:
Resource
Local Clinical Leadership
Project Management –
improvement
implementation phase
Information Analysis
Project Support
Project Sponsor &
oversight
PIMS support
Who
Amount
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11. Roles and Responsibilities
Project Board
<List the roles and responsibilities of the Project Board, for example>
The Project Board:
 is accountable for success of the project and has the authority to direct the
project;
 provides overall guidance and direction;
 agrees the Project Initiation document;
 meet at key milestones and at any other time required;
 authorise exception plan;
 review Risks and Issues;
 close project.
Project Team
<List the responsibilities of the Project Team, for example>
The Project Team reports to the Project Board. The Project Team:





reports to the Project Board;
manages the progress of the day to day work;
reports the progress to the Team;
identifies any risks and issues;
assesses deviation from plan and produces options.
Membership of the project team:
<List the members of the Project Team>
Project Management
How will this phase of the project be managed and who will be doing this?
<List specific duties of the Project Manager(s), for example:>
 chairing the Project Team;
 manage the risks, including the development of contingency plans;
 prepare and report to the Project Board through Highlight Reports.
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Clinical Leads
<List the key responsibilities of the Clinical Leads, for example:>
 be a clinical champion for change and innovation
 identify key stakeholders and engage them throughout the project
 negotiate and secure clinical stakeholder agreement to the approach and
methodology
 engage and reflect the views of the multi-professional team in the ongoing
development of the project
 Identify need for further interventions to promote clinical engagement.
 act as a role model for continuous improvement and development
 work with colleagues in the Programme Team to promote a cohesive approach
in taking forward this project
 advise on and support the collection of relevant data to undertake DCAQ analysis
 provide expert clinical advice on the interpretation of the data
 speak at conferences to share learning from the work
 support the development of the spread and sustainability strategy for the
changes proposed
 provide ownership of project locally and provide regular reports on progress,
risks and issues.
12. Project Plan
This project will have two phases.
Phase One will focus on:
 Developing a high level understanding of service processes;
 Identifying and implementing immediate service improvement opportunities;
 Gathering appropriate data to undertake a detailed DCAQ analysis;
 Completing the DCAQ analysis and agreeing further areas for service
improvement activity.
This phase will be project managed by <insert name>
Phase Two will focus on:
 Undertaking the specific improvement activities identified by phase one analysis
and associated work to the agreed timescales;
 Evaluating the outcomes of the work.
This phase will be project managed by <insert name>
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Throughout each phase, both the effectiveness of changes made and the financial
impacts of those changes will be evaluated.
You may wish to include a high-level Project Plan here.
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