Enhanced programme: Prepare
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Facilitate a project planning workshop
Set clear aims and objectives, identify resources and budget required and procure funding
Identify a Project Manager and procure support
Create a project plan
A good project plan will help to ensure that your Enhanced programme meets its objectives and is completed on time and within budget.
The following offers a set of steps to create a clear project plan. It mirrors the project planning process in the Kick-Start programme, with the aim of delivering different objectives.
Facilitate a project planning workshop
Involving your project team in the planning process will help to create ownership of the process at an early stage.
Run a project planning workshop to:
- introduce the Enhanced programme to your LVEP team;
- involve them in creating an action plan;
- identify the contributions they will make to the project / action plan;
- identify stakeholders.
Remember to:
- Share the project plan with all parties responsible for any deliverables within it, so that they are clear about:
- their responsibilities and what is expected of them;
- the timescale they are working to.
- Remind everyone involved to flag any problems with their deliverables as soon as possible.
Download a suggested framework for facilitating an Enhanced Project Planning Workshop from the downloads section of this toolkit.
Set your aims and objectives
The aims and objectives of the Enhanced programme are outlined below. You may wish to add to these to reflect regional considerations.
Familiarise yourself with the aims and objectives of this programme and consider whether there are any supplementary objectives you wish to add.
Enhanced programme aim:
To develop our destination’s accessible tourism offering and promote this effectively to our target market.
Enhanced programme objectives:
To achieve this we will:
- provide a programme of professional support and guidance to a selection of business across the tourism value chain. This support will enable those businesses to understand and improve the information, facilities and customer services they provide for visitors with accessibility requirements;
- engage other businesses and stakeholders across the region through destination wide conferences;
- enhance the online accessibility information provided for potential visitors at destination level, encouraging more people to look and book with confidence;
- launch a B2C marketing campaign through owned, earned and paid channels to showcase the accessible tourism products across the destination, with the aim of increasing visitor numbers.
Agree evaluation measures
Identify measures which can be used at the evaluation stage to determine whether the programme has been successful.
You could use the following list of example KPIs to measure the success of your project:
Area of work Suggested KPI Business engagement Agreed number of suitable businesses from across the value chain signed up to the programme. Accessibility audits An Accessibility audit completed for each business and a detailed accessibility report and improvement plan provided. Monitoring of online training for front-line staff At least 90% of identified customer facing staff at each business completed 100% of the online accessibility training. Mystery Shopper programme At least one mystery shopping visit by a person with accessibility requirements to each business with feedback documented (up to maximum of three). Accessibility Guide creation A high-quality Accessibility Guide available for each business, ideally an AccessAble Detailed Access Guide. Business website review and guidance An Accessibility section available on the website of each business containing quality accessibility information. Peer Mentoring programme Each business has received at least two calls from their business mentor. Delivery of two destination wide events Two full day in-person destination-wide events delivered. Accessibility Champion training A full day face-to-face training session delivered to around 30 people that delivers against the key learning outcomes. Online training provider The online disability awareness e-learning programme provides bug-free usage with an uptime of at least 99%.
Seed funding £1,000 allocated to each participating business to facilitate accessibility improvements identified within their improvement plan. Marketing KPIs for marketing will need to be added. These will depend upon the marketing activities undertaken and the channels used and may include number of impressions or growth in incremental spend.
Identify potential risks and mitigation
Identifying potential risks within the project will enable you to put contingency plans in place to mitigate these.
Consider the potential risks which may arise during your project and develop a plan to mitigate or manage them. Some examples are provided below:
Potential risk Suggested mitigation Lack of project team resources Identify project team resources required to undertake the process, allocate clear roles and responsibilities and recruit additional support, if required. Low engagement of businesses with project Clearly outline the benefits of being involved in the programme including:
- the support provided and its estimated monetary value;
- business improvement opportunities;
- networking opportunities;
- staff skills development;
- improved customer service;
- enhanced visitor satisfaction.
Allow a long lead time to identify and engage appropriate businesses, including one or two ‘star’ attractions within your destination prior to the official project start.
Select businesses with a reasonable level of accessibility to start with, so that they are coming into the project with either a reputation for good access and inclusion or a motivation to want to be involved.
Business drops out part way through the process due to operational reasons
Business is dropped from the programme due to a lack of commitment or engagement.
Be aware that this is a possibility.
Determine whether the business can be replaced quickly and develop a ‘reserve’ list of businesses who could come on board if required.
Lead contact within a business leaves, is ill or is changed part way through the process. Try to identify two people as leads within each business. This will help to ensure continuity within the process Participating businesses are unable to attend key events within the development programme e.g.
- Accessibility Champion training
- Destination-wide event
Provide a full outline of the whole programme from the outset explaining:
- the different activities and elements that will take place;
- what will be involved;
- the benefits from attending;
- what commitment is needed from the businesses;
- key dates.
This will enable participants to schedule their time as required.
Remind businesses at each event of the programme of events, the next steps in the process and the key dates coming up.
Consider sending out an e-newsletter periodically throughout the process to keep everyone informed and engaged.
Administration of the project by PAMs, in addition to their delivery role, causes delays to the project Seek reassurance of adequate staffing levels from PAMs as part of the tendering process.
Consider undertaking the management, co-ordination and administrative elements of the project within your LVEP team. This includes the management and co-ordination of:
- the mystery shopping process;
- the peer mentoring process;
- monitoring online training completion;
- monitoring and chasing.
This could be achieved by establishing a co-ordinator role within your LVEP team.
The time needed to achieve this should not be underestimated and you need to ensure that you have sufficient capacity to deliver this. This would leave the PAMs to focus on key areas including:
- undertaking audits;
- event delivery.
PAM leaves or is ill part way through the process Seek reassurance of adequate staffing levels from PAMs as part of the tendering process. Long delays between the businesses being audited by the PAMs and receiving their reports and improvement plans Ensure the PAMS have capacity to undertake and produce the audits in a timely manner.
Consider agreeing a specific timeline with the PAMs with sufficient time between the audit of the business and the delivery of the audit report and improvement plan.
Consider whether businesses could populate some of the basic aspects of the audit themselves. This could be achieved by signposting businesses to the Action Checklists within the Accessible and inclusive tourism toolkit for businesses. These elements could then be checked during the audit.
Seek reassurance of adequate staffing levels from PAMs as part of the tendering process.
Online training is not engaging enough for some users Ensure, when commissioning online staff training, that the materials are:
- engaging;
- interactive;
- impactful;
- relevant to different roles within tourism businesses.
Completion of online training is difficult to monitor Ensure training provider demonstrates the reporting functionality prior to appointment to check it meets your requirements. The destination has nowhere to showcase its newly developed accessible tourism products on project completion
Participating businesses are unable to signpost visitors to the region’s wider accessible tourism offering
Undertake the Kick-Start programme prior to the Enhanced programme in order to produce an accessible tourism resource within an ‘Accessibility’ section of your LVEP website. This can then be supplemented during the Enhanced programme. Momentum is lost after the project is completed Identify a co-ordinator role within your LVEP team to:
- maintain the momentum created through the programme;
- facilitate ongoing networking and learning opportunities.
Identify resources and budget required
There are a range of elements within this programme which will require funding. You will need to consider each of these to create a realistic overall budget for the programme. This will vary depending on the number and size of businesses you engage and your timescale for delivery.
Consider each of the elements of the programme which require funding and determine a budget for each one. The following provides an indicative budget range for each element.
Project element Indicative budget Specialist support from a Professional Accessibility Mentor (PAM):
Business Engagement activities, including:
- assisting with business selection;
- half day in person business engagement workshop;
- destination partner meeting.
Business Development activities, including:
- auditing of 12 businesses;
- monitoring online training by front-line staff;
- facilitation of a Mystery Shopping process and Mystery Shopper expenses;
- facilitation of a peer mentoring programme;
- creation of a Detailed Access Guide for each business;
- business websites review and guidance;
- destination website review and guidance;
- facilitation of two destination wide conferences including venue and food and beverage costs.
£50,000 - 90,000
Accessibility Champion training, delivered in person or via webinar
£2,000 - £3,000 Online training for front-line staff £2,500 - £5,000 Seed funding to support initial business improvements £1,000 per business Marketing Budget dependent upon level of marketing activity required and channels utilised
Create a project timeline
Developing a realistic timeline for each phase of the programme will enable you to plan effectively. The exact timeline within this process will depend on your own circumstances and those of your businesses. You may, for example, choose to begin the business support and development package before the initial destination-wide event. It is also important to consider the overall timing of the project to ensure that the training and development elements fall at a time when the majority of participating businesses are quieter and therefore better able to participate.
Consider each of the phases within the project and identify a timeline for each. An indicative timeline from the North York Moors Accessibility Project is provided for guidance.
Project phase
Indicative timescale
Step 1: Preparation
- Resources and budget
- Development of project plan
1 month
Step 2: Engagement
- Identify and engage businesses
3 months
Steps 3 and 4: Business Development
8 months
Step 5: Marketing
10 months
Step 6: Evaluation
2 months
Identify a Project Manager and procure support
Within this process, a Project Manager from within your destination organisation is needed to manage things such as obtaining funding, budgets, timelines and stakeholder management. The Project Manager will be the important link between your LVEP, Professional Accessibility Mentors (PAMs), participating businesses and your wider stakeholders.
It is recommended that you also recruit a Professional Accessibility Mentor(s) (PAMs) who will support the programme. Consider making this appointment at a very early stage so that the PAM can contribute to the development of your project plan.
Identify a Project Manager who is able to:
- build up a relationship with the tourism businesses, the PAMs and the wider stakeholder group;
- communicate with key contacts;
- be on hand to answer queries;
- chase up on actions to help keep the project on track;
- understand the challenges of running a business alongside participation.
In the longer term, the Project Manager may also:
- act as a central reference point for accessible tourism in your destination;
- keep the momentum going by providing opportunities for businesses to network and learn on an ongoing basis.
“The support that the Project Manager in particular gave was fantastic. What I really liked about her role and the way she actually did it was that if I’d forgotten to do something or if things were dragging a little bit she would ring and chase me up; I really value that because sometimes, you know, other things take priority, and you forget to do things. So that role is really important as a backup to the PAMs, who are dealing with that day-to-day stuff. That was a really good model” – experience provider.
Source funding
Sourcing the funding to implement this programme is an important next step. The VisitEngland Grant Funding and Bid Writing Toolkit provides practical advice on finding funding available and signposts to further helpful resources. Additional signposting on funding is provided in the Laying the foundations section of this toolkit.
Recruit professional support
For the project to be successful, you will need to procure professional support. Each of the roles required is outlined below, along with tools providing guidance on recruitment and suggested KPIs.
Professional Accessibility Mentor (PAM)
A PAM will provide specialist guidance and support. Their principal role is to support you and your participating businesses through the programme. They will be specialists in accessibility and inclusion, ideally within a tourism context. Their experience and expertise will help you and your stakeholders gain maximum benefits from the process.
Recruit a PAM who can:
- contribute to the development of your project plan;
- assist with the selection of tourism providers for inclusion in the programme;
- advise on key messaging and the development of a communication timetable;
- audit the accessibility of participating businesses;
- manage and monitor the completion of online training by front-line staff;
- manage a mystery shopping process;
- support businesses to provide relevant online accessibility information;
- review the accessibility information provided on your LVEP website;
- manage a 1 to 1 peer mentoring programme;
- manage the delivery of two destination-wide conferences.
The PAM brief (add link) provides:
- an example role description for a Professional Accessibility Mentor (PAM);
- suggested Key Performance Indicators for a PAM within this process;
- guidance to support recruitment and selection.
“I would absolutely say they (the PAMs) have been the stars of the show, if it wasn’t for them it might be a very different experience. I think their knowledge and experience has really made the project for me: that their experience is personal experience, which makes it so much more relatable as they’ve been there and done that themselves. So for them to be able to communicate those experiences from a very hands-on level was just an eye opener: to learn from it and to ask questions - it’s been amazing” – Accommodation provider
Accessibility Champion training provider
The role of a training provider is to design, deliver and evaluate programmes which meet the training needs identified within the Enhanced programme. This includes delivery of Accessibility Champion training and potentially training for front-line staff, if not provided via e-learning.
Online training provider
The role of an online training provider is to provide online training for customer-facing staff at the businesses participating in the process. The focus for this is supporting them to provide a warm welcome for visitors with accessibility requirements. You may also want to consider offering the training to others, including marketing staff, to create a consistent level of understanding within each business.
Peer mentors
Providing a peer mentor for each of the participating businesses offers an additional source of support and guidance. A mentor should either be someone from a similar business type who is further along the road in their accessible tourism journey or has gone through a similar development process within their business.
Mystery shoppers
Visits from mystery shoppers with accessibility requirements enables businesses to receive direct feedback from your target market. This feedback is a powerful addition to the information generated by an accessibility audit. It can help to both identify the things which businesses are getting right and highlight the additional things they can do to improve.
Develop a stakeholder map and communication plan
Identify who your key stakeholders are within this process. They include your businesses and the organisations outlined in Step 5 of the Laying the foundations section of the toolkit, including:
- local businesses – tourism and non-tourism related;
- the public realm and natural environment;
- transport providers;
- the local community, including people with lived experience.
For each of your stakeholders, identify each of the following to form the basis of a communication plan:
- what do they need to know?
- when they need to know it?
- how they need to be involved?
Examples of key messages for stakeholder groups are outlined below:
- Aims and objectives of the programme
- The benefits of being involved
- Their roles and responsibilities within the programme
- Project milestones, activities and timeline of events
- Key dates
- Deliverables
- Project updates
- Marketing plan.
