THE NEXUS
Project Management , The Affordable Housing Case Study , And Lessons For Marketers
By Walter Chabala
Kenya ’ s Vision 2030 is the country ’ s development blueprint that seeks to transform Kenya into a newly industrializing middle income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by the year 2030 . This Vision is being implemented through successive five-year medium term plans . Currently , we are in the Third Medium Term Plan ( MTP III ) 2018-2022 . This Plan has been aligned with the Jubilee Manifesto 2017 , with particular focus on implementing policies , programmes and projects designed to achieve the “ Big Four ” initiatives of President Kenyatta ’ s Second Administration . These are : Manufacturing , Affordable Housing , Food and Nutrition Security and Universal Health Coverage .
This current columns lesson is on project management and it ’ s similarities to marketing . To achieve the learning objectives , we are going to use the Government ’ s Affordable Housing Programme as a case study and for valid reasons . One , shelter is a basic human need . Two , Our Constitution in Article 43 ( 1 )( b ) recognizes the right to accessible and adequate housing , and to reasonable standards of sanitation . Lastly , housing forms a central part of vision 2030 ’ s dream of providing a ‘ high quality of life ’.
A project ( just as is a marketing campaign ) is defined as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product , service or result within a specific budget and timeframe . In this case , the project here is Government ’ s undertaking of building 500,000 affordable homes between 2017 and 2022 . Such a project needs a project manager . The Project Manager here is the State Department for Housing and Urban Development ( SDHUD ).
Top among many other functions that project managers perform include : Planning and Organizing , Managing Tasks , Budgeting , Controlling ( costs and other factors ) and communication . Now ,
For those working in marketing communication agencies , a natural form of delegation is already self-occurring courtesy of the client service , the creative , the designer and all the way to the PR , media and production departments . Delegation , though a simple task at face value , needs a fine understanding of capabilities , passion and individual drive . whereas these are important , I want to zoom in on Planning and Organizing and 3 other core skills / abilities of a good project manager : prioritization , delegation and effective communication .
Planning And Organizing
Believe it or not , no one ( and I mean no one ) beats Government in Planning and Organizing . Government is a master planner . After a multi-stakeholder forum that included everyone from : planning and housing experts , engineers , architects , surveyors , developers and financiers , legal consultants , and other technical consultants with a special interest in affordable housing , the Project Manager launched the Kenya Affordable Housing Programme Development Framework Guidelines in October 2018 .
This well-researched and well documented Government paper was to provide instruction on how the Project Manager will implement his vision and how progress will be monitored and reviewed .
Lesson 1 , first key step of good project management ? Engage with stakeholders to identify key tasks . In this first and critical step , the project manager was looking at identifying desired outcomes , reducing risks , avoiding missed deadlines , and ultimately handing over keys to 500,000 new home owners by August 2022 . Basically everything we always need to do as we seek to launch that new marketing campaign : brainstorm as a team , map out key messages to achieve marketing goal , set out timelines and all the while avoiding all forms of risk through this exercise .
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