Since last summer, the partners are busy implementing their Action Plan to bring transformation at local level. Where do they currently stand? Are there already some visible improvements? Kolding Municipality tells us more about the changes that started to appear in the city following the Smartwaste Action Plan
Can you summarize your Action Plan in one or two sentences?Can you summarize your Action Plan in one or two sentences?
We developed a Project Kit for implementation to increase focus on effect evaluation and goal formulation to improve planning, execution and evaluation of projects and the Waste Management Plan itself.
What have you already implemented?
The Project Kit has helped us provide a practical and structured approach to evaluating the initiatives in the previous WMP to serve as a foundation for the revised edition which was approved in the spring of 2023. This generated some great insights and highlighted some of the many benefits of a systematic and unfiltered evaluation structure even more, and will definitely be part of the preparation for the next WMP.
Do you already have some first evaluation? How are the changes brought by the Action Plan welcomed by the local actors?
The Project Kit was implemented in the Waste Department of Kolding Municipality in February 2022, and since then the work has influenced the development and the need for, new tools throughout the organization. The key points of careful goal formulation, planning for effect evaluation and focus on product/deliverables was captured and disseminated throughout all departments with workshops and in print. Additionally, a distilled version was developed for small innovations or idea-testing to enable all employees to test and implement their ideas in the organization.
Most colleges find the short, clear and structured way of the Kit to be helpful in their project planning, but the need for management to set clear expectations are still present. This applies both to the use of the Project Kit in the planning of all active projects, defining roles in meetings and prioritizing projects and operations for better resource management.
The project is finishing in a few months, do you already know if you will follow-up on the Action Plan? How?
We are still exploring options to find the best and most streamlined way to supply both management and employees with project information. A team-based project overview combined with 55-minute monthly information sharing workshops with one - three project presentations are currently being tested. This seems to strike a good balance - giving most of the organization an overview of activities and simultaneously provide a good insight into specific projects.
Project culture development is an ongoing process, and we are not at the finish line yet. We are however leagues away from where we started when we entered the Smart Waste Project.
Photo credit: Ulrik Pedersen, Redux – Affald og Genbrug, Kolding Kommune
