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ANNEX 5: TARGET OWNER TOPIC GUIDE
A. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
1. Who we are ( SPIU, Inclusion)
2. About the study (overall aim, method, reporting arrangements, timetable)
3. Themes Covered in this interview (the seven headings, B-H below
4. Taping and opportunity for amendments (full transcriptions will be provided following the interviews so that amendments/clarification can be made if necessary)
5. No direct quotations in report without permission
6. Probably an hour interview
7. Any questions?
B. YOU AND YOUR ROLE AS TARGET OWNER
8. Tell me about your work in the Scottish Executive.
- Career trajectory
- Current Departmental affiliation
- Current Rank/Status
- How much time (%) given over to being TO?
- How is the TO role integrated into the rest of the work of the Department?
9. How long have you been the Target Owner?
- Been the only TO?
- How came to be TO (promotion to post / re-allocation)?
- TO role involve target setting or (merely) monitoring whether target is being achieved
10. What are your expectations of how the role of TO will change with time?
C. YOUR TEAM
11. Can you tell me about your Support Team?
- Specific responsibilities of Support Staff
- Involvement of/responsibility of other more senior staff in decision making
- How is the role of support staff integrated into the rest of the work they undertake for the Department?
12. Can you tell me about the analyst who is attached to support you?
- Current Departmental affiliation
- Current Rank/Status
- Supporting other Targets?
- Work history, relative to Department
- Work history, relative to TO
- How often do you meet with/contact them?
- Their role in relation to your work?
- The role you anticipate them playing as CtOG develops further?
D. TARGET SETTING AND MONITORING
13. What do you perceive to be the strengths and weaknesses of the Target for which you are responsible?
- Extent to which it is considered to reflect the underlying changes which it designed to effect
- Identifying 'additional' impacts
- Identifying key issues which it does not measure
14. How did you decide which data to include in your target monitoring arrangements?
- Role of analyst
- Role of other delivery agencies
- Robustness of data/measures
- Whether plan to review data
- Are some areas of target delivery covered to a greater extent than others?
15. What steps will indicate that you are progressing towards achievement of your target?
- Whether there are interim targets / what they are?
- Process behind setting of interim targets
- Key issues that were considered when setting interim targets
- Review process, if target has already been reviewed
- Schedule for future interim monitoring
- Key anticipated issues for interim monitoring
16. What will demonstrate that your target has been successfully achieved?
- Discrepancies with stated target outcomes from WWW site
- Process behind setting target outcomes
- Relative importance of stated target outcomes
- Explore answers that are not stated target outcomes
17. Are you aware of any other agencies that are independently monitoring whether progress is made toward [add specific detail of target]
- What agencies
- Awareness of details (remit of organisation for issue)
- Adequacy of their monitoring
18. What do you think a successful monitoring CtOG framework would look like?
- Overall purpose of monitoring
- Key issues it will have to address
- Key developments that monitoring will inform
- Known dates at which data will have to be available
- Desired frequency of monitoring data, about which areas of target delivery?
Target specific questions: any specific questions for each target, related to data maps.
E. ON GOING WORK
19. Can you update me on work that has been undertaken to date for your target area?
- Listing of partnerships being formed
- What is action plan?
- Use of WWW site to update plan
- How far progressed is action plan (toward achieving target)?
- What have been the key issues you have had to address to get to this stage?
6.06 Are there any problems?
6.07 Nature of problem
6.08 Possible solutions
6.09 Action taken so far to address
- What do you anticipate that future challenges will be?
20. What work is planned in the short term - before the end of the calendar year? (note, if limited work is planned, probe on when these plans are likely to be developed)
- Use of WWW site
- Partnerships
- Action plans
- Key issues to address to ensure achievement
6.10 Are there any problems?
6.11 Nature of problem
6.12 Possible solutions
6.13 Action taken so far to address
- Key stakeholders involved in/likely to be involved in planning process
21. What work is planned in the longer term - from the start of 2006 to the end of the current Parliamentary Session. (note, if limited work is planned, probe on when these plans are likely to be developed)
- Use of WWW site
- Partnerships
- Action plans
- Key issues to address to ensure achievement
6.14 Are there any problems?
6.15 Nature of problem
6.16 Possible solutions
6.17 Action taken so far to address
- Key stakeholders involved in/likely to be involved in planning process
22. What are the main delivery stages for your target?
- Start dates
- Probe discrepancy - if any - with information we have on WWW site
- Also probe discrepancy with answers to previous 3 questions
- Why have these dates been chosen (probe: practicalities of time taken to deliver, data availability, political considerations, others?)
23. There is always a concern that policy interventions don't benefit those who need it most … who do you think will benefit most from the work for which you are responsible as TO?
- If not key target group (population defined for Target)
- why groups identified will benefit most
- what impact will make upon target group
- is this a problem or best possible
6.18 … and If problem
6.18.1 Any action taken so far to address?
6.18.2 Planned action?
6.18.3 Possible solutions?
6.18.4 Issues that will impact upon delivery
- If key target group (population defined for Target)
6.19 How target group will benefit
6.20 what impact will make upon other groups
6.21 How important is this additional benefit
24. To what extent is achievement of your target contingent upon the work programme that you have direct responsibility for?
- Determine input of others from different sectors
- Determine relative importance of other sectors
25. To what extent is achievement of your target possible in the time frame that has been set for the CtOG programme?
- Nature of problems
- Areas most likely to be achieved
- Areas where they are less confident
F. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TARGETS
26. Which other targets do you think that your target impacts on?
- Target
- Nature of impact
- Any cross-Target working-information exchange / Nature of
27. Do you think that achievement of your target contingent on any others? Which ones?
- Target
- Nature of impact
- Any cross-Target working-information exchange / Nature of
28. What would you consider to be an appropriate and effective level of exchange among Target Owners?
- What is required
- Details - and thoughts - of existing meetings among TO
- Whether exchange should be for specific targets or more general among whole group
- Whether exchange is 'carrot' or 'stick' in shaping work of TO
- Exchange between analysts?
- Exchange between delivery agencies?
G. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS
29. What is the relationship between your target and the six CtOG Objectives?
- Range of Objectives to which Target contributes
- Relative important of Target to Objective
30. What do you think the overall relationship is between the Targets and the six CtOG Objectives?
- Does achievement of the Objectives mean anything other than achievement of the Targets?
- Is so, what?
31. To what extent are you responsible for achieving the six CtOG Objectives?
- Designated responsibility
- Perceived responsibility (whether buying-in to CtOG over and above specific tasks)
- Who has responsibility?
32. Do you have any ideas for how the six CtOG Objectives could be monitored?
- Specific ideas
- Perceived problems
- Relative importance of monitoring Targets and Objectives
- Perceived difference between monitoring Targets and Objectives
H. OVERALL CTOG STRATEGY
33. What do you think an assessment of the effectiveness of the overall CtOG strategy should measure/include?
- Specific ideas
- Perceived problems
- Relative importance of monitoring Targets, Objectives and Overall Strategy
34. How do you think your target relates to the overall achievement of the strategy?
35. What will have changed in Scotland if CtOG is successful?
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