Investment plan 2024 - FAQs

What is the College investing in?

There are three major projects underway this year:

• Advanced Training Curriculum Renewal (ATCR). We are accelerating bringing the rest of our AT curricula in line with AMC requirements, based on the successful process for 15 specialties in 2023.
• Training Management Platform (TMP). We are implementing a modern training management platform to support administration and management of the new Basic and Advanced Training curricula. The solution will focus on enhancing the overall user experience for our trainees, supervisors, DPEs and employees.
• Member Relationship Management platform (MRM). a foundation platform to start to deliver a more personalised, proactive, supportive service offering to members throughout their career journey with the College. The College wants to collect, organise, and manage its member data to allow us to collect information about what our members are doing with the College, personalise digital products and services, focus on member centric automation, and responding proactively, rather than reactively to changing member needs.

You referred to a wider IT strategy over five years. What else do you intend to invest in and how much will it cost?

We will be looking to replace our website, finance, payroll and other platforms progressively with the intention of delivering a more connected enterprise platform rather than the islands of technology we have today.

We haven’t projected an all-up cost, and trying to do so over a five-year timespan would not provide an accurate picture, as costs and the macro-economic environment can change significantly during that period. Instead, we will project the cost of each project and seek Board approval to proceed on a project-by-project basis, while anticipating a return to surplus in 2028.

Why is there an immediate need to invest in these three projects now?

There are several reasons, ranging from requirements by our regulator, through to member dissatisfaction with our current services.

• ATCR - In late June 2023, the College received the AMC response to the College’s April 2023 submission for education accreditation. The key AMC finding was the College has not met the Education Framework Standard 3 and has not acted on the technology implementation to support it (replacing Tracc). The AMC stated they expected to see significant progress on technology and a plan for a Tracc replacement by December 2023 to support the implementation of the new curriculum
• TMP – The ATCR is dependent on a new TMP. We currently have a mix of systems and manual processes for managing current PREP training programs. Employees must access up to eleven different systems to respond to a single training enquiry. Some of these systems are not fit for purpose and are unable to easily support the new curricula being implemented. Comparing our current technology to what is required in future shows a need for significant technology changes to improve the delivery of services to members.
• MRM – Currently our member information is held in multiple databases, hindering our ability to obtain a full view of all the interactions a member has with us. There are at least five systems containing member information, and multiple spreadsheets. Some of these existing systems are unsupported and pose a high risk should they fail, and some are recent additions to the College’s architecture.

Is this investment necessary – is it possible to continue using existing processes and systems?

The regulator has an expectation that we will be able to support our new curricula with the appropriate tools and technology, and our current systems cannot do that.

We have many different systems that are not integrated, and some critical ones have exceeded end of life already.

We have carefully examined the costs and the benefits and weighed the risks. The risks of not proceeding are significant, and we are confident this investment is the right decision.

Wasn’t the TRACC project supposed to solve a lot of these issues?

After several years of development, the College decided to terminate the TRACC project, because we determined it was unlikely to meet our needs.

What is the preferred technology solution and why? How did you identify it?

We will be using Microsoft products, including MS Dynamics365 Platform and Power Platform, which have been demonstrated to meet agreed training management requirements, after we built a Proof-of-Concept during late 2023. Our research during 2023 also confirmed that the Microsoft platforms are also being used by other Medical Colleges throughout Australasia and internationally for training management and member relationship management. Microsoft products are already in use across the College – and developing the TMP on them will allow seamless integration.

Will these be bespoke system developments?

There will be a significant amount of system configuration, but the base product is Microsoft Dynamics 365 procured as a software as a service. This means no bespoke or custom development is possible of the base product. Microsoft provides hooks to allow customers to add additional code but this sits outside of the product. We have learned from previous unsuccessful projects where deep customisation was extensive, or bespoke applications were developed. MS Dynamics integrates with our existing Office 365 suite, is scalable and has further modules for functions like Finance, Marketing and Communications.

Did you go through a formal procurement process?

Once it was determined that Microsoft products would meet our needs and were being successfully used by other Colleges, we went through a formal procurement process inviting respondents to put forward proposals to implement the Microsoft products. KPMG was selected through this process as our systems integrator.

Why are we suddenly hearing about this now?

Over many years the Colleges financial strength has been gained due to lack of investment in keeping IT systems up to date. The regulator is now requiring us to urgently make the necessary IT changes to support the introduction of our new curricula. Our existing systems cannot manage aspects of the new curricula.

What is the cost to the College?

We expect the initial investment to generate a deficit of more than $10 million dollars for the 2024 year, and reducing deficits until 2027, with a return to surplus in 2028.

Can the College absorb that cost - is the College financially sound?

This is an investment in our future. Yes, the College is financially sound and yes, we can absorb this sum. We have a very strong balance sheet, with no long-term debt, small short term debts and approximately $50 million in cash and equivalent assets. We also have another $50 million in funds specifically tied to the RACP Foundation that can only be used for Foundation purposes.

Will the College be borrowing money to implement these projects?

No, the investment will be taken from our $50 million in cash and equivalent assets.

Will you be increasing fees incoming years specifically to pay for these projects?

We do not anticipate increasing fees beyond normal rates of inflation.

Can you provide a more detailed breakdown of the cost?

Any more detail is commercial in confidence, as it would go down to contract level with commercial providers. Various sums may also change across the four-year life span of the project, but the broad investment is the previously mentioned circa $10 million in 2024, reducing to return to surplus in 2028.

Why were members not consulted in advance about this expenditure?

The regulators have requested accelerated action on implementing the new curricula and we have not met Standard Three of our accreditation. Under the Constitution the Board is responsible for the governing the College, which comprises the management and control of the business and affairs of the College.  This includes approving strategy and planning, financial reporting, capital management including major capital expenditure commitments and monitoring performance of the College.

The expenditure decisions were made with appropriate risk oversight, Board consultation and sign off, consistent with those delegations. Consultation with the membership on operational and strategic matters is not required.

How will Fellows benefit from the investment?

Because we will be able to see all a single member’s interactions with the College in one place, our aim is to be able to personalise and improve services and product responses to an individual member to a much greater degree. We will also be able to anticipate new services and products they may be interested in.

How will trainees benefit from the investment?

Our aim is for trainees’ entire training journey to be digital, and online providing a single integrated picture of training for an individual trainee, which is dynamically updated. This will result in a more complete and up to date picture of progression through training for trainees, their supervisors and DPEs. The TMP will also interface with all other College systems, allowing College employees to deal with training enquiries more effectively and efficiently. It is important to note that all this functionality will not be available immediately, but will be carefully released in stages as the TMP project continues.

What is the timeline for these projects?

Functionality will be delivered in multiple releases commencing towards the end of 2024 and throughout 2025. Further details will be shared as we progress this initiative.

The College has a poor record of managing IT projects – what safeguards are in place this time?

IT projects are challenging for any organisation, and we are taking significant steps to mitigate risks:

• Because of the criticality of TMP and MRM, we are being advised by KPMG, who know the College and have a track record of success in implementing large enterprise-scale IT projects.
• We are convening an Advisory Board made up of senior external subject matter experts who can advise the RACP Board based on their past experience of governing similar projects.

Will there be a significant increase in IT staff to implement these projects?

We expect additional RACP employees to be added to the IT and Education, Learning and Assessment team. These numbers are still being finalised.

I’m a trainee/Supervisor/DPE, how will the introduction of these new platforms affect my 2024 training year?

The 2024 training year will continue to be managed by existing training platforms and training delivery and support will not be affected.

It is also important to note that delivery of examinations and progression through training in 2024 will not be impeded by the implementation of TMP. Please note, there will be no further use of computer-based testing as a result of these projects for the time being.

The new TMP platform will be rolled out for use for trainees newly entering an applicable training program from the 2025 clinical year. Information on which specialties will be supported by the new TMP will be communicated mid-2024.

For a period of time, we will be running two training systems in parallel. Current trainees on PREP will continue to be managed on our existing platforms. As curricula and TMP development are finalised, trainees will be progressively moved across to the new system and new training programs. We expect this to commence in late 2025 and we will be communicating and supporting trainees, supervisors and DPEs throughout this process.

What will the new TMP provide me as a Trainee/Supervisor/DPE?

Our aim is for the new TMP to provide a single portal for:

• Trainees to be able to register into RACP training programs, manage their training time, learning goals and be able to submit assessments. Trainees will be able to manage and monitor their progress against the training program requirements.
• Supervisors/DPEs to be able to view their trainees across all RACP training programs, monitor trainees progress and contribute to the completion of assessments such as progress reports.

It is important to note that not all of this functionality will be available immediately. We aim is to carefully assess and then release functionality in stages as project development progresses.