Change Awards spotlight: 2024 'Future Inspiration - Public Sector' winner Sarah Morrison

Association for Project Management (APM) is sponsoring the inaugural Change and Project Partnership Award at the upcoming Change Awards 2025, an annual event honouring the best examples of global change, transformation and innovation. The Change and Project Partnership Award will recognise the collaborations and partnerships in the project profession that have led to meaningful change. As part of the award celebrations, APM is speaking to winners and finalists of previous Change Awards.

In 2024, Sarah Morrison was the winner of the Future Inspiration - Public Sector award for her work at the University of Glasgow. Sarah told us all about winning the award, and what it means to her life and career.

For background, can you provide a summary of what you won your award for?

I began working in Transformation Projects as a Change Analyst within a newly formed change team. As part of that role, I was responsible for contributing to the creation of our change framework and toolkit. Specifically, I identified a gap in training and upskilling related to organisational change and created a training needs analysis process to help fill the gap. As part of this I also upskilled in digital learning to create bespoke training programmes for project related changes. Feedback from colleagues was overwhelmingly positive and providing a dedicated upskilling/training framework and provision helped to alleviate a lot of tension and resistance to the implementation of new processes and software.

What motivated you and your organisation to enter the Change Awards last year? Why did you feel these awards in particular were well suited to the work you had done?

As a newly formed change team, where previously there was no specific change management provision, we felt that the Change Awards would be a great fit and would stimulate some interest from our in-project colleagues. Engaging with the awards and seeing the numerous case studies helped colleagues to understand more fully the role of dedicated change management tools and techniques within projects.

Why do you feel it is important for change, transformation and innovation to be recognised through events such as the Change Awards?

When organisational change happens it’s easy to assume it’s been an organic or simple process, an enormous amount of work goes in the background to make change happen and initiatives such as the Change Awards help to highlight this.  The Change Awards draw attention to the role that change management plays and showcases a wide variety of case studies that demonstrate how pivotal the role is within transformation and innovation.

In a world where change is constant, what advice would you offer to project managers who are often tasked with making change happen?

My advice is to be aware that people just don’t like change! Don’t take resistance to change personally and try to empathise with colleagues who are finding it difficult. Maybe dig a little deeper, are they unsure of their capabilities to learn new skills?  Are they concerned about new technologies replacing elements of their role?  By understanding the resistance, you can take measures to ease concerns, perhaps by building in robust upskilling or implementing a considered and thorough communications plan. Working closely with key stakeholders is also vital in helping colleagues to feel invested in and supportive of your change initiatives. 

What would you say to anyone who is considering entering the Change Awards 2025?

I would say, without hesitation - do it! There is value alone in taking the time to write application. The process of reflecting on a piece of work that you are proud of and seeing your achievements summarised in black and white is really affirming and confidence building.  You’re already a winner if you do that.  However, if you’re lucky enough to be short listed or take home the award in your category, it’s such a thrill to be recognised amongst such a talented group of peers. Involvement in the Change Awards will also help to showcase the role of change to colleagues and start a dialogue about your contribution. 

The Change Awards 2025 ceremony takes place on 10 April 2025. The list of categories and key dates leading up to the event can be viewed here. Applications will close on 31 January. Winners will be announced on 10 April.