22
– was revised to reflect delivery in practice, with the changes formalised as part of the operation’s re -profile.
2.38 In summary, the key changes at the point of the Mid-Term Evaluation were as follows:
• Representation on the Project Board differed slightly from that envisaged in the original Business Plan. The Board was chaired by the Project Sponsor, and included the Project Manager, the (Co-) Principal Investigators, Head of Law Clinic, and representative from REIS. Furthermore, the Board met as required, rather than on a formal quarterly (or other diarised) basis, to ensure pr oductive use of members’ time.
• A Co-Principal Investigator had been appointed with a focus on the LegalTech strand of the LILW; they also led the LegalTech research team.
• The original plan was to establish an Advisory Board to cover both LegalTech and Cyber Threats. However, the operation decided the Board would in practice focus on LegalTech only. This was owing to the well-established and pre-existing presence of CYTREC on the Cyber Treats strand, which has its own governance structure. Further, the LegalTech and Cyber Threats agendas are very different (albeit with potential for knowledge sharing), therefore it was deemed appropriate by the operation to focus the Advisory Board on the less well-developed area of LegalTech. The LegalTech Advisory Board was planned, but had not been established by the Mid-Term Evaluation. • In addition, a separate Advisory Board will be established which will focus exclusively on the Virtual LegalTech platform. The Virtual LegalTech platform Advisory Board was planned, but had not been established by the Mid-Term Evaluation
2.39 Subsequently, several points are noted:
• The Project Board continued to operate as before, and was seen by stakeholders to have worked effectively overall. However, towards the latter stages of delivery, meetings became more infrequent. This was in part due to challenges relating to availability of Board members. However, as the operation neared completion, legacy planning meetings with the F aculty’s senior leadership team were held in place of the Board, to discuss the future direction of the Lab post-ERDF funding. Alongside this, the Project Manager interacted frequently with the University’s Planning and Strategic Projects Unit (PSPU) regarding project closure. In addition, the two Co-PIs and Project Manager have had regular, informal meetings throughout the operation period. • The LegalTech Advisory Board was not established as planned. The process of setting up the board commenced in late-2022, and interest was secured to include senior industry and sector representation from law and access to justice. However, at this point, it was recognised that realising value from the board – in terms of leveraging the strategic advice
Legal Innovation Lab Wales
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