EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (ABSTRACT)
The Universal Service Fund (USF) Program is governed and managed by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC). This program was established to facilitate the expansion of telecommunications services to locations, groups and villages which are not adequately served by the commercial market. The Telecommunications sector in Grenada is a vital one, with a total gross domestic product (GDP) in Eastern Caribbean (EC) dollars of $74.09M recorded in 2016 and a 3.08 contribution to GDP (Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, 2017). In addition to its contribution to GDP, it is a critical lever for the economy, specifically commerce and trade. Further, telecommunications is recognized by the Government as an important catalyst transcending the sectors of the economy. In recognition of this, the Government has outlined strategies to create an enabling environment to expand access to telecommunications. With many recent initiatives such as e-Government, access to telecommunications services, specifically among the outer communities, is critical.
As a result, the Government has looked to the USF as essential to aiding in the achievement of its strategy by implementing projects which expand access to telecommunication services to villages and institutions serving the public needs; the importance of these projects to the national agenda has hastened the need for methodologies which will guide the selection, implementation and management of the USF. These have been necessitated to ensure proper use of public funds in the interest of prudent spending. While the USF Regulations and Guidelines exist to guide project implementation, the limitations of these Regulations call for methodologies which will bridge the gap and enable an efficient USF program. Moreover, the past rate of implementation and setbacks with USF projects has increased the need for project management methodology. USF has a recorded implementation rate of 82% and approximately 27% of the projects are plagued with issues including delayed timeline and over budget. These statistics can be attributed to the lack of recorded procedures, limitations in current policies which exist and the absence of process maps to guide project implementation.
The general objective of this project was to develop a project management methodology according to PMI standards to guide the management and implementation of universal service fund projects. To guide the achievement of this general objective, the specific objectives of the project were to identify gaps in the current USF operations in order to recommend areas for improvement; to develop project management procedures according to Project Management Institute (PMI) good practices that would increase operating efficiency of the USF; to develop process maps and templates that would streamline the universal service fund program in order to ensure effective selection of projects for prudent spending of public funds; and to apply the methodology to a typical project case that would ensure understanding of the proposed process methodology.
The Universal Service Fund (USF) Program is governed and managed by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC). This program was established to facilitate the expansion of telecommunications services to locations, groups and villages which are not adequately served by the commercial market. The Telecommunications sector in Grenada is a vital one, with a total gross domestic product (GDP) in Eastern Caribbean (EC) dollars of $74.09M recorded in 2016 and a 3.08 contribution to GDP (Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, 2017). In addition to its contribution to GDP, it is a critical lever for the economy, specifically commerce and trade. Further, telecommunications is recognized by the Government as an important catalyst transcending the sectors of the economy. In recognition of this, the Government has outlined strategies to create an enabling environment to expand access to telecommunications. With many recent initiatives such as e-Government, access to telecommunications services, specifically among the outer communities, is critical.
As a result, the Government has looked to the USF as essential to aiding in the achievement of its strategy by implementing projects which expand access to telecommunication services to villages and institutions serving the public needs; the importance of these projects to the national agenda has hastened the need for methodologies which will guide the selection, implementation and management of the USF. These have been necessitated to ensure proper use of public funds in the interest of prudent spending. While the USF Regulations and Guidelines exist to guide project implementation, the limitations of these Regulations call for methodologies which will bridge the gap and enable an efficient USF program. Moreover, the past rate of implementation and setbacks with USF projects has increased the need for project management methodology. USF has a recorded implementation rate of 82% and approximately 27% of the projects are plagued with issues including delayed timeline and over budget. These statistics can be attributed to the lack of recorded procedures, limitations in current policies which exist and the absence of process maps to guide project implementation.
The general objective of this project was to develop a project management methodology according to PMI standards to guide the management and implementation of universal service fund projects. To guide the achievement of this general objective, the specific objectives of the project were to identify gaps in the current USF operations in order to recommend areas for improvement; to develop project management procedures according to Project Management Institute (PMI) good practices that would increase operating efficiency of the USF; to develop process maps and templates that would streamline the universal service fund program in order to ensure effective selection of projects for prudent spending of public funds; and to apply the methodology to a typical project case that would ensure understanding of the proposed process methodology.
This project utilized analytical technique to undertake an in depth review of the current operations of the USF in comparison with industry standards. This analysis will enable the development of procedures to guide the implementation of USF projects as well as the development of process maps and templates which will serve to standardize the USF program.
Based on the assessment conducted, one of the major problems identified in the USF project management practices is that the planning process is not undertaken in depth; as a result, the projects during the execution phase encounter problems which could have been avoided with proper planning. In addition, planning is limited to scope, schedule, stakeholders and procurement. Key areas such as risk, communications, and quality are not addressed during the planning phase. Despite these gaps identified, it was noted that stakeholder management was one of the strong points of the USF. Stakeholders were identified from the beginning, during the concept phase, and the stakeholder engagement continued in the planning phase where they were an integral part of the project development. Early stakeholder communication can prevent future problems with projects such as project delay and changing scope due to lack of understanding of the stakeholder requirements (PMI, 2013). Stakeholder engagement continued throughout the process to the project close. Despite this obvious strength, it was noted that this knowledge area also required additional work, such as conducing a detail stakeholder analysis, developing a stakeholder interest matrix, and updating these throughout the process. This addition to the USF project management process will serve to strengthen their stakeholder engagement and further improve on the rate of implementation.
To improve the USF project management, a project management methodology was recommended; this methodology proposed process maps which will guide USF through the project cycle. In addition, templates were proposed to standardize the USF and to ensure that some procedures, such as risk management, which are not being undertaken, to be part of the project management process. In addition, a step by step guide was provided to assist the USF department with the activities required at each step of the project management process and who should oversee these activities. Further, it was recommended that more time be allocated to the planning process and a detailed project management plan should be developed to cover all knowledge areas, this plan should not only exist in theory, but should be used as a reference and benchmark to guide the project cycle. Because of the importance of USF as part of national development, it was also recommended that a benefits realization be conducted as part of the process. The purpose of the benefits realization was to ensure that the projects executed met their intended objective of national development. It was recommended that an impact assessment be conducted as part of the benefits realization to determine the value added by the project to the users.
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http://www.uci.ac.cr/Biblioteca/Tesis/PFGMAP1862.pdf
http://www.uci.ac.cr/Biblioteca/Tesis/PFGMAP1862.pdf
