Boundary activities and readiness for ... - Projekti-Instituutti

Results
Figure 8 The program structure in Center
The first round of interviews was conducted by the research team about a
year after the program launch. At that time the program was still in the
early initiation and planning stage. The early program activities involved
various seminars, meetings and discussions. The aim of these events was to
generate ideas, analyze pressures coming from the environment, and
develop a shared understanding of the goals and scope of the program. At
the time of the interviews, the sub-program managers had only just been
named and there seemed to still be a substantial confusion about the
program’s goals and content. The expectations and the level of ambition
seemed high, but it had proven problematic to convert them into tangible
and measurable program goals. Besides general discussions and
negotiations, there were few concrete efforts to advance the program’s
content. Even though various projects related to the program’s topic were
ongoing in the organization, it was unclear whether these were, or should
be, parts of the program. Many interviewees criticized the slow progress
and poor outcomes of program planning. Both those involved in the core
program team and those more peripheral to the program had complaints.
There were unclear and dissenting views concerning the change goals and
the program’s role in implementing those changes. The resources assigned
to the program did not seem to be in line with the high expectations. In
addition, a lack of practices and guidelines for program work was reported.
After the first round of interviews, our research team was invited to
organize three workshops with the key actors of the change program,
targeted at those involved in the program activities. The first workshop was
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