Polar Research Vessel Programme: SRO appointment letter
Source: data.gov.uk (2022-06-21)

Government Major Projects Portfolio Senior Responsible Owners. The government is committed to publishing lists of the SROs for projects on the GMPP.
To address this commitment the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) publishes lists of the SROs responsible for government major projects.
This list may be searched to locate the names of Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) of the Department's projects with fall within the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

Nick Smallwood 
Chief Executive 
1 Horse Guards Road 
London  
SW1A 2HQ 
T: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
E: xxx@xxx.xx 
Alex Chisholm 
Permanent Under-Secretary of State 
1 Victoria Street 
London  
SW1E OET 
T: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
E: xxx@xxx.xx 
Nigel Bird 
Senior Responsible Owner 
New Polar Research Vessel Programme (BIS ref: KI14-21) 
Natural Environment Research Council 
UK Research and Innovation 
Polaris House 
North Star Avenue 
Swindon  
SN2 1FL  
24th February 2020 
APPOINTMENT AS SENIOR RESPONSIBLE OWNER (SRO) FOR NEW POLAR 
RESEARCH VESSEL PROGRAMME 
This letter formalises your appointment as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) of the New 
Polar Research Vessel Programme. This project sits on the Government Major Project 
Portfolio (GMPP). These responsibilities form part of your role as a director of the 
Natural Environment Research Council for which you are accountable to Professor 
Duncan Wingham, Executive Chair of Natural Environment Research Council, who is 
accountable to Sir Mark Walport, Chief Executive of UK Research and Innovation, who 
is accountable to Alex Chisholm. The responsible Minister for your project is Chris 
Skidmore. The work of the project is overseen by the Department’s Executive 
Committee and its supporting sub-committees. Your role as SRO will be reflected in the 
objectives you agree with Professor Duncan Wingham. 
As SRO you have personal responsibility for delivery of New Polar Research Vessel 
Programme and will be held accountable for the delivery of its objectives and policy 
intent; for securing and protecting its vision, for ensuring that it is governed responsibly, 
reported honestly, escalated appropriately and for influencing constructively the context, 
culture and operating environment of the project.   
 

 
This will be a part time role which requires 40% of your time per month. This will be 
periodically reviewed to ensure that an appropriate balance is maintained across your 
portfolio of activities. 
You are accountable for ensuring that the project is governed in line with BEIS’s 
governance framework. The principles set out in the revised Osmotherly Guidance, 
published in October 2014 will also apply from the date of this letter. That includes the 
requirement to publish this letter on gov.uk. 
The revised Osmotherly Guidance establishes that SROs for major projects will be 
directly accountable to Parliament for the implementation of the project. Once the 
project is in its implementation phase, you will be expected to account for and explain 
the decisions and actions you have taken to deliver the project for which you have 
personal responsibility, against the business case, within the context of the 
Department’s corporate objectives and as a member of the Department’s senior 
leadership team.  It will remain for the responsible Minister to account for the relevant 
policy decisions and development, including accounting for decisions that materially 
affect the project’s business case, though the guidance makes clear that as SRO you 
are expected to be able to explain such decisions.   
A description of generic SRO roles and responsibilities is attached at Annex A and you 
are expected to follow the principles it sets out.  You will also want to familiarise yourself 
with the guidance “Giving Evidence to Select Committees – Guidance for Civil Servants” 
and with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) guidance on management of 
major projects: (https://www.gov.uk/government/policy-teams/major-projects-authority). 
This includes the Government Functional Standard for Project Delivery to which the 
project should adhere and utilise. 
Your accountability to Parliament sits alongside your accountabilities under the Civil 
Service Code, your role in supporting the Accounting Officer, and your membership of 
the BEIS Senior Leadership Team.  
Tenure of position 
You are expected to remain in post at least until October 2021 which aligns with the 
completion of the ship in service milestone.  
Your tenure in this post will be regularly reviewed with Sir Mark Walport, taking into 
account the benefits of continuity, the capability needed to lead this project through its 
development, planning, delivery and evaluation phases; the length of these phases, 
your development as a member of the project delivery profession within the Civil 
Service, and the Department’s ability to deploy its senior leadership team appropriately.  
You should ensure that you have agreed with Sir Mark Walport appropriate succession 
planning for key personnel in the project. 
Objectives and Performance Criteria 

 
The policy intent supported by this project is to enable UK polar scientists to remain at 
the forefront of environmental research in both the Antarctic and the Arctic. 
The objective of the programme is to replace two aging science/logistics support 
vessels with a new dual role purpose vessel. 
The programme will be delivered by October 2021 within the agreed budget of £225 
million. 
Proposed changes to the project scope which impact on this intent or benefits 
realisation must be authorised using the project’s governance framework, in conjunction 
with the Department’s governance framework and may be subject to further levels of 
approval. Further details are set out below.  Your objectives and performance criteria 
with respect to this project are reflected in your performance agreement form, agreed 
with Professor Duncan Wingham. 
Extent and limit of accountability 
Finance and Controls 
The overall budget for the New Polar Research Vessel Programme is set out above and 
in your letter of Delegated Authority; this is issued to you annually by the Department’s 
finance team and may be updated from time to time.  This letter is the means by which 
you are held to account for the budgets and other resources for which you are 
responsible. 
The allocation of UKRI resources is subject to review each year during business 
planning and as SRO you are expected engage actively in the business planning 
process.  UKRI explicitly recognises that you will need to balance your responsibilities in 
respect of the project with your responsibilities relating to the wider work of the UKRI as 
part of BEIS’s cadre of senior leaders.  Decisions on resource allocation will reflect the 
need to strike a balance across the entirety of BEIS’s portfolio of projects.   
HMT spending controls will apply on the basis set out within BEIS’s delegated authority 
letter.  Where the Project exceeds the delegated authority set by HMT, the appropriate 
Treasury approval process will apply. The details must be agreed with your HMT 
spending team. You should consult departmental finance colleagues on how to go 
about this.  
You should also note that where expenditure is considered novel, contentious, 
repercussive or likely to result in costs to other parts of the public sector, HMT approval 
will be required, regardless of whether the project expenditure exceeds the delegated 
authority set by HMT. If in doubt about whether approval is required you should, in the 
first instance, consult your UKRI’s Chief Finance Officer and the BEIS Portfolio Office 
before raising with the relevant HMT spending team. 
You should operate at all times within the rules set out in Managing Public Money. In 
addition, you must be mindful of, and act in accordance with, the specific Treasury 

 
delegated limits and Cabinet Office controls relevant to the New Polar Research Vessel 
Programme.  Information on these controls can be found here: Cabinet Office controls. 
Delegated Departmental / project authority 
You are authorised to approve expenditure in line with your delegated authority letter. 
You should use your project’s governance framework, in conjunction with the 
Department’s governance framework, as the means by which any necessary 
authorisation is sought for any changes to your project’s scope, milestones or 
scheduling. The Departmental Integrated Assurance and Approvals Strategy (IAAS) 
sets out the limits and conditions of any approvals as well as the process to seek 
approval to materially change the scope of an approved project. This may include 
recommending the need to either pause or terminate the project where necessary in a 
timely manner.  
Where issues arise which you are unable to resolve within delegated responsibilities, 
you are responsible for escalating these issues to Professor Duncan Wingham, Sir Mark 
Walport and ultimately BEIS as required by the IAAS in a timely manner. This includes 
making any such recommendation to pause or terminate the project as required. 
Project Status   
The Project Status at the date of your appointment is reflected in the most recent 
quarterly return on the project to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority / monthly 
delivery confidence assessment to UKRI and BEIS. This is the agreed position as you 
assume formal ownership of the project.  Project progress is reviewed regularly by the 
Department’s Executive Committee or its supporting committees.  You should take 
active steps to ensure you escalate in a timely manner any significant issues that will 
materially affect the delivery of the project for which you are responsible as set out in 
the business case. 
Professional Development and Support 
As an SRO, it is expected that you will continue your on-going professional 
development, including through IPA mandated training. Luis Castro as Head of Project 
Delivery Profession will be able to assist you in in this process. 
As someone currently attending MPLA, the BEIS Portfolio Office will support you to 
continue your on-going professional development.  
You should consult the SRO page on the Project Delivery Hub which has a number of 
resources available to support you. There is a Guide and Toolkit which is designed to 
help you lead your project by explaining the component parts of the role and your 
responsibilities. There is also the IPA document, The Role of the SRO. It sets out: 
•
the key requirements and accountabilities of the SRO role, also drawing on
the project delivery functional standard, as well as the Osmotherly rules;

 
•
how the SRO’s role relates to other key leadership roles in major projects,
particularly the accounting officer and the project director;
•
best practice on appointments, development and support for SROs - drawing on
the experience of existing project leaders across government.
The SRO page also links to The Art of Brilliance. This is designed to practically help you 
deliver your SRO role. 
BEIS also has a Delivery Leadership Group for SROs which can provide peer support 
for your development. 
We would like to take this opportunity to wish you success in your role as SRO. 
Please return a signed copy of this letter to the BEIS Portfolio Office 
(xxx@xxx.xx). 
Signatures 
Nick Smallwood 
Chief Executive, Infrastructure and 
Projects Authority 
Alex Chisholm 
Permanent Secretary, BEIS 
I confirm that I accept the details of my role, including my personal accountability for 
development, delivery and implementation as detailed in the letter above.  
Name of SRO: Mr Nigel Bird 
Signature of SRO:  
Date: 24th February 2020 

 
SRO Role and Responsibilities  
Annex A 
The Role of the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) 
You are personally accountable for ensuring the ongoing delivery of New Polar 
Research Vessel Programme You are responsible for securing the resources 
necessary for the success of the project within those available to BEIS and for 
ensuring that the related implementation and transition activities realise the agreed 
objectives and benefits. In doing so you should balance the need to support the 
Accounting Officer to help BEIS reach an affordable settlement which reflects the 
department’s priorities and to deliver value for money across BEIS. 
You will be personally accountable to Parliamentary Select Committees and be 
expected to explain the decisions and actions you have taken. This could include 
where a Minister has intervened to change the project during the implementation 
phase in a way which has implications for the cost and/or timeline of implementation. 
You will be able to disclose your advice about any such changes.  
You must ensure the effectiveness of the governance, assurance and project 
management arrangements and maintain them throughout the life of the project. You 
should adopt best practice and be prepared to justify any deviation from it, in line with 
guidance published by the Cabinet Office, specifically the IPA’s Government 
Functional Standard for Project Delivery. 
An SRO will: 
•
Be a visible, engaged and active project leader, not a figurehead;
•
Deliver the agreed outcomes and benefits;
•
Create an open, honest and positive culture committed to delivering at pace;
•
Challenge senior officers and Ministers when appropriate and escalate quickly;
•
Provide appropriate support, steer and strategic focus to the Project Director and
ensure that they have a clear and current letter of appointment; and
•
Have sufficient time, experience and the right skills to carry the full responsibilities
of the role.
Specific SRO accountabilities:  
Ensure that the project is set up for success 
•
Ensure that the project is set-up to make an unambiguous and demonstrable link
to strategic policy;
•
Translate this policy intent into clear deliverables which are established and
agreed with senior stakeholders;
•
Carry out a robust and commercially viable options appraisal, which balances risk
with opportunity, as part of initial project feasibility;
•
Establish a firm business case for the project during the initiation/definition phase
and ensure that any planned change continues to be aligned with the strategic
need;
•
Identify and secure the necessary investment for the business case (this includes
both budget and operational resource);

 
•
Design and implement robust, appropriate and transparent project governance;
•
Build strong and effective relationships with key stakeholders, justifying their trust
and retaining their confidence, and obtain their commitment to benefits realisation.
Ensure that the project meets its objectives and delivers the projected benefits 
•
Gain agreement to the project objectives and benefits amongst stakeholders,
including Ministers where appropriate;
•
Understand the broader government perspective and its impact on the project;
•
Ensure the strategic fit of the project objectives and benefits;
•
Agree a clear and simple approach to performance management and monitor
delivery of the objectives and benefits, taking appropriate action where necessary
to ensure their successful delivery.
Develop the project organisation structure and plan 
•
Ensure that there is a coherent organisation structure and appropriately detailed
project plan;
•
Build the right team, securing necessary resources and skills and providing clear
lines of accountability;
•
Provide appropriate support, steer and strategic focus to the Project Director.
Monitor and take control of progress 
•
Monitor and control the progress of the project at a strategic level, being honest
and frank about project progress, risks and issues; Ensure that any changes to
agreed project benefits are flagged appropriately within project governance and
that the business case is updated accordingly (throughout project lifecycle);
•
Ensure that the integrity of the project is maintained and speak truth to power –
including to Parliamentary Select Committees;
•
Communicate effectively with senior stakeholders regarding project progress and
provide clear, appropriate and delivery-focused decisions and advice to the Project
Director.
Ensure problem resolution and referral processes are appropriate and effective 
•
Identify, understand and drive the successful mitigation of project risks;
•
Escalate serious issues quickly and with confidence to senior management and/or
Ministers;
•
Develop strong and effective engagement between the project team and its
stakeholders and sponsors;
•
Ensure that communication processes are effective and that the project’s
objectives and deliverables continue to be consistent with the organisation’s
strategic direction.
Ensure that the project is subject to review at appropriate stages 
•
Recognise the value of robust project review and ensure it occurs at key points in
the project lifecycle, particularly at the initiation stage;

 
•
Make certain that any recommendations or concerns from reviews are met or
addressed in a timely manner;
•
In the event of a “red” or “amber-red” review or a red or amber-red quarterly
GMPP review rating, ensure that the Performance and Risk and Projects and
Investments Committees are made aware of the situation.
Manage formal project closure 
•
Formally close the project and ensure that the lessons learned are documented
within the final evaluation report and disseminated to key stakeholders;
•
Ensure that the post implementation review takes place and that the output is
communicated to the appropriate stakeholders;
•
Ensure a plan for both long term benefits realisation and on-going sustainability is
agreed with key stakeholders as part of the process of moving the project to
“business as usual”.