services
services
services
We offer a broad range of management consulting services, but we are not like other management consultants. We work only with clients who share our goal of creating public value. We have no private or for-profit clients, avoiding the potential for conflicts of interest they may create.
- Government agencies that want to design and deliver major organisational changes or to improve efficiency and effectiveness work with H4 Consulting because of our success and experience designing and delivering major change programs in the public sector. We excel in strategy development and planning strategic business cases, business process re-engineering and mapping, project management human capital management, and facilitation and consultation. We have extensive experience working collaboratively between central and service delivery agencies.
- Non-Government Organisations that want access to public funds to create public goods or deliver public services work with H4 Consulting because of our deep understanding of Government’s procurement objectives when engaging with the non-government sector. We have expertise in both grants management and large PPP projects. Other organisations that provide complementary services and want to enhance their offerings to Government agencies work with H4 Consulting because of our highly regarded skills and experience in the public sector, and our proven ability to design and deliver major programs. We have demonstrated success partnering with other consulting firms to deliver practical implementation support, building momentum for the work that comes after the report is written.
services
strategy development and planning
Our practical knowledge of the unique challenges and demands of the public sector operating and authorising environments makes us highly effective partners to support our clients with strategy reviews, evaluation, development, and advice.
We have extensive experience in strategy development and planning including:
- whole-of-government strategy
- cluster-level strategy
- agency-level strategy
- sub-agency level strategy
Our expertise encompasses governance, legislation, managing the authorising environment, authority and accountability, and resource allocation decisions. We have skills in facilitation, consultation, policy research and development, policy review and evaluation, and the interface between policy and delivery. We have demonstrated success with large and small policy reform, both working within, and as advisers to, publicly funded organisations.
We are practical policy thinkers who bring implementation experience into all aspects of policy and strategy work. We believe that the best policy solution is one that can be implemented successfully.
We collaborate closely with our clients. By engaging early with accountable executives and key stakeholders, we build a shared understanding of what we will do and why. Our experience as public sector executives and managers, and our well-established networks of professional contacts, help us to work effectively with stakeholders and staff at all levels, from Ministers and Secretaries to frontline staff and clients.
strategic business case
We have extensive experience undertaking quantitative and qualitative analysis to inform evidence-based investment decisions. We understand the processes and priorities of investment decisions in public sector organisations, including both the analytic and stakeholder engagement dimensions of preparing compelling business cases, Better Regulation Statements, and Financial Impact Statements.
We have built complex economic models and written persuasive business cases for a wide range of public sector and publicly funded organisations. We have prepared formal business cases in diverse social policy areas including domestic and family violence, child safe organisations, mobile and community health, emergency services, and homelessness. These have included cost benefit analyses, cost effectiveness analyses, and sensitivity testing of alternative hypotheses. We have also prepared commercial procurement plans, supported by robust market and industry analysis.
We have broad and deep analytic capability, including financial, economic, operational, and performance analysis. We specialise in social policy and human services domains, including extensive experience in supply and demand modelling in social policy settings.
business process mapping/re-engineering
We have proven skills in business process mapping, including complex customer service, regulatory, governance, and information management processes in a range of domains. We have successfully delivered business process re-engineering and mapping projects in domains as diverse as information management, health services, disability services, courts and tribunals, Aboriginal community initiatives, and land rezoning.
Our approach to business process mapping is highly collaborative, engaging with diverse stakeholders across settings, geographical locations, and levels of seniority to understand how things work in the real world, not just on paper. We identify opportunities to streamline current processes without compromising compliance or outcomes, and make recommendations grounded in a deep understanding of current practice and policy priorities.
We recognise that business process maps are storytelling as well as analytic tools. They are powerful ways of engaging and communicating with stakeholders and decision makers. We scale the detail and complexity of our process maps to fit the needs of each project. We have built complex, technical maps of regulatory processes that draw on extensive desktop reviews of legislation and policy documents. We have also codesigned compelling narrative process maps that explain the journeys of Aboriginal community initiatives.
project management
We specialise in project and program planning and management in public sector settings, including direct project and program management, support and advice, and improving our clients’ project and program management practices.
We have extensive experience of a wide range of portfolio, program, and project management (P3M3) models and practices, and have successfully designed, implemented, reviewed, and improved P3M3 practices and program management offices (PMOs) for a wide range of public sector clients. We give advice and training in best-practice methods, and coaching and mentoring for executives and staff working in portfolio, program, and project management roles.
We have helped organisations with established processes to identify and implement strategies to improve their P3M3 maturity. We have also helped organisations with little to no P3M3 experience to design and implement:
- processes and systems for planning, monitoring, and reporting on projects and programs
- standards and frameworks for project and program management
- centres of excellence
- activist PMOs
- enterprise PMOs
- rescue and recovery of high-stakes projects and programs.
Our approach to project and program management in public sector and publicly funded organisations recognises that most people managing projects in these settings are not professional project managers. We use light touch methods that integrate well with commonly used methodologies and tools to maximise benefits with minimum sufficient effort.
human capital management
We have expertise in several aspects of human capital management encompassing individual capability, organisational capacity, and organisational culture. Our experience includes optimising workforces, resource planning and allocation, analysing workforce capabilities and needs, analysing shifts and rosters, and employee performance management tools and techniques.
We have designed executive and operational layers for human services settings, ranging from individual teams to entire agencies. We have also supported step down planning for functions and organisations that are closing or significantly scaling down. We have also designed technical and specialist functions that provide state-wide or enterprise-wide support to operational staff.
We have assessed workforce capability and analysed training needs, and designed capability development frameworks and plans to build capability over time. We have also worked closely with managers and affected staff on a wide range of sensitive topics, including workforce planning, leadership, organisational design, and business continuity, to build their capability, confidence, and resilience in challenging circumstances.
business performance reviews
We have extensive experience facilitating policy and operational reviews in complex and sensitive policy domains, including a mix of desktop reviews, facilitating workshops with internal and external stakeholders, and conducting interviews with stakeholders ranging from responsible executives to frontline staff, non-government service providers, and affected members of the public.
We have examined the appropriateness and effectiveness of the structure and functions of diverse teams, including policy and regulatory enforcement units, against their strategic priorities. We have analysed strengths and gaps in capability and operational and process challenges and conducted end-to-end reviews of business performance, e.g. for incident management processes.
We have conducted post-implementation reviews examining the adoption, appropriateness, effectiveness, and efficiency of major transformation programs, including the appropriateness and effectiveness of Program Management Office responsibilities and activities, and made recommendations guiding future phases of implementation and change management.
We have also examined the appropriateness and effectiveness of interfaces between State and Australian Government agencies, and recommended improvements to both internal and interface functions to increase efficiency and improve effectiveness for clients and staff.
organisational design/transformation
We have proven experience in designing, implementing, and supporting major transformations, including cross-agency and multi-jurisdictional redesigns and transformation programs.
We have designed interconnected transformation frameworks to support execution of strategic priorities in diverse contexts, including strategic and business planning processes, and project and program management frameworks and tools. This has included transformation frameworks within agencies as well as across related agencies and multi-cluster contexts. We have supported the early stages of transformation implementation, including conducting needs analyses and designing, piloting, and refining frameworks and associated suites of supporting tools, resources, and training.
We have provided expert advice, coaching, and training to establish and build in-house capability to sustain PMO models to deliver ambitious transformation programs, including direct on-site support, advice, and training for staff, and off-site support including advice on transformation program and project design, planning, and relevant organisational structures.
We have redesigned existing organisational and team structures based on functional, strategic, and interface analysis, including interfaces between State and Australian Government agencies. We have also designed wholly new team structures, roles, and governance for new functions, based on functional and job analysis.
governance
We are experts in public sector governance and accountability, with extensive experience reviewing, designing, and implementing governance, oversight, and management frameworks and structures in a wide variety of publicly funded organisations.
All senior members of our team have held senior executive roles in government agencies, including a mix of central agency, service delivery agency, and independent regulatory agency contexts. This hands-on experience informs our deep understanding of the scale and practical realities of public sector appropriations, delegations, and compliance obligations.
We have worked with clients in government agencies and government-owned corporations to address significant governance challenges. This includes facilitating preparation and implementation of management responses to major audit findings and recommendations, which required significant changes to delegations and controls. We have also reviewed and redesigned administrative processes and annual work programs for boards of government agencies.
We have designed performance monitoring and management structures, including formal performance management and escalation frameworks, and developed information reporting templates and tools to support accountability and benchmarking. This includes internal performance monitoring and management for public sector clients, as well as frameworks for managing contract and grants-based delivery
We have designed best practice governance structures and frameworks for major government strategies, for strategic and business planning, project prioritisation, and project and program management. This includes preparing terms of reference for governance bodies at the project, program, and strategic levels. We understand the importance of designing program and project governance models that integrate with existing delegations and accountability frameworks.
policy review/development
We have extensive experience in social policy review, analysis, and development.
We have examined the appropriateness of policy settings within agencies, such as assessing the suitability of thresholds and methods for prioritising regional service delivery centres for resource enhancements based on demand. This included analysing resource deployment models, working with specialist actuaries to validate underlying modelling and assumptions for quantitative and qualitative analysis of policy outcomes.
We have conducted qualitative policy research ranging from targeted analysis of alternative regulatory enforcement options to large-scale public consultation on sensitive social policy and legislative proposals. We have analysed the appropriateness and scope of regulation, enforcement options, and the appropriate role for NSW regulators in supporting organisations and others to adopt major new regulatory changes. This included modelling the reach, market acceptance, and regulatory impact of various implementation options. We have developed escalation frameworks supported by regulation, policies, and tools to identify and respond to compliance failures, including action to be taken and penalties to be imposed.
We have analysed the effect of major changes to the policy environment on the regulation and delivery of social support services, including examining the appropriateness of State government legislation and policy settings in the context of Australian Government legislation and policy. We have also designed revised regulatory policy frameworks to be compatible with changed legislative environments.
change management
We have proven experience in planning and delivering change and change management services, including enterprise scale changes for large, geographically dispersed State government departments.
We have directly managed major change programs with significant workforce and service implications, including leading consultation and communications with affected stakeholders at all levels, both internal and external to the organisation. We are recognised experts in planning and delivering enterprise-scale transformation programs and program management offices in public sector settings, including health services in multiple Australian jurisdictions. This has included planning and delivering stakeholder communication events and collateral, training and supporting transformation project and program managers, facilitating masterclasses for senior executives, and engaging diverse stakeholders from chief executives through to operational staff.
We have also supported client organisations to build capability to plan and deliver significant changes. This includes designing and delivering change management frameworks as well as communicating and supporting adoption of those frameworks through communication, collaborative workshops, and training, including targeted sessions and materials for executives, managers, users, and other affected staff.
facilitation and consultation
We are highly skilled facilitators of online and face-to-face workshops and meetings with both small and large numbers of participants. We are in demand as MCs and facilitators of strategy and planning events and valuable conversations on sensitive topics.
We have demonstrated success collecting insights from stakeholders via workshops and focus groups, interviews, and online surveys. We have led and analysed the findings of many large-scale public consultations for major social policy initiatives, including a mix of consultation with government agencies, NGO sector stakeholders, priority industries, service delivery staff, and the public. We can manage all aspects of consultation, including developing consultation materials, discussion papers, online surveys, website content, media releases, conversation kits (to assist local workshop facilitators), analysis, and reports on findings and recommendations.
We have extensive experience facilitating valuable discussions on sensitive topics, including critical corporate decisions like the functional design of the Executive layers of government agencies and practical service delivery issues like the management of medication incidents in disability service settings. We have experience working with diverse subject matter and subject matter experts, and supporting projects that involve cross agency collaboration and coordination.
accounting services
We have expertise in financial and non-financial analysis and modelling, including trend analysis, budget setting, and efficiency improvement. We have analysed cost drivers, relevant policies, and funding arrangements, to design, implement and manage specific strategies and initiatives to improve financial sustainability, optimise capital programs, and inform resource allocation decisions. We have also created and applied integrated outcomes-based planning and budgeting frameworks at multiple levels of aggregation for diverse public sector organisations.
All senior members of our team have managed multi-billion-dollar budgets and efficiency programs in large and small government agencies. This hands-on experience informs our deep understanding of the scale and practical realities of public sector appropriations, delegations, and compliance obligations.
We have an excellent reputation for preparing high-quality Financial Impact Statements to support Treasury assessment of policy proposals. We have created financial models and developed benchmarks, including integrating and synthesising data from many different sources and large databases to identify trends, prepare forecasts, and optimise spending plans to maximise outcomes.