Supporting delivery of grant funding at MHCLG
For the past nine months, I have been working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as Head of Delivery in the Funding Service team. It has been a time of immersion into the world of grant funding: a fast-paced, complex environment supporting policy teams to get vital applications out into the world.
Supporting the Funding Service team to launch a new service into private beta alongside grants that have been ministerially committed dates, with a sprinkling of added scrutiny of 10 Downing Street, has made the work consistently exciting.
It’s a two-become-one service, with Deliver grant funding used by policy teams and Funding Service colleagues to design application forms that meet funding simplification rules, best practice and user needs; that’s quite an ask. Access grant funding is the public-facing side of the service, used by grant recipients (Local Authorities, charities and, soon, other government departments) to share information and data.
Delivery is about people and pace
While hitting dates is the objective, how we get there matters. In this role, I’ve focused on navigating the difficult problems that come with complex delivery, from technical hurdles to supporting the people behind the screens.
Beyond the immediate grant-related goals of the Funding Service, I wanted to help share the things I’ve picked up and learnt over the past two decades in the wider delivery community of practice, and helping new delivery people find their feet in the civil service delivery management landscape. People said nice things too:
"Jon is a star and one of the finest delivery people I’ve worked with. He is incredibly warm and people focused. He is also very strong in terms of planning, risks and all the harder project management elements of being a delivery person... he’s helped the team through difficult problems of both kinds: people problems and tough delivery milestones.”
Deputy Director,
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
A multi-disciplinary effort
Delivery at this scale is never a solo pursuit. I have had the privilege of working alongside a super talented group of researchers, designers, developers, product managers and relationship managers. This combined expertise provided the engine behind every grant milestone we hit, and there were a lot.
The environment at MHCLG is strengthened by a dedicated and supportive senior leadership team that’s been wonderful to be part of. From the service owner to heads of profession through to deputy director, the support was consistent and empowering. Having that level of trust from senior leadership helps a team to remain focused on the task at hand; building and improving a service that works for the people that use it.
Seeing the impact in the real world
The most rewarding part of delivery management in the public sector is seeing the work in the real world being used. Over the last few months, the team has supported several major funding announcements that are now actively supporting communities:
Tackling homelessness: Over £50 million has been deployed to support the fight against homelessness.
Pride in Place: The launch of the £16.5m impact fund, helping local authorities from Birmingham to Pembrokeshire invest in their communities.
Community resilience: Supporting funds like the Common Ground Resilience Fund to help local organisations thrive.
What’s next?
The list of grants launching over the next 6 weeks is long and mighty. We’ve got a busy time coming up. I’ll be staying with in MHCLG’s Funding Service for a few more months to ensure a seamless handover to an incoming Head of Delivery.
I hope they enjoy working with this brilliant team as much as I have. It has been a privilege to support a team doing such vital work.
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I’m a freelance Delivery Consultant (Director, Head of, Lead or Senior level) specialising in complex digital services. I help government teams navigate high-pressure delivery, I step into environments where the stakes are high and the deadlines are normally set, providing the steady hand needed to get things over the line.
If you have a difficult project that needs a bit of composure and a clear path forward, let’s have a chat.
