Effective Project Management World Community Service/International Projects Brent Olson

Essentials Defined Project Managers - “Two deep” plus Explicit Accountability Arrangement for results, funding, communications, reports Clear Written Project Concept Well Defined Partnership Arrangements Suitable Detailed Project Plan, including key tasks, budgets, milestones, evaluation scheme GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management A Matter of Terms Rotary Club Grant Others do work and mostly manage it; we provide funds, receive completion reports. Rotary Club International Project One or more clubs designs project, organizes work, controls disbursements, evaluates it Rotary Foundation Matching Grant/Project Foundation makes grant: we manage work with international partners as joint project GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management Essentials - Once Again Defined Project Managers - “Two deep” plus Explicit Accountability Arrangement for results, funding, communications, reports Clear Written Project Concept Well Defined Partnership Arrangements Suitably Detailed Project Plan, including key tasks, budgets, milestones, evaluation scheme GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management Define Explicit Project Manager Responsibilities “Two deep” leadership is crucial: all project managers should be prepared to undertake other’s tasks. Foundation grants will now require three Rotarians Clear definition of all management tasks, and who is charged with each, is critical, even more so when two or more clubs are involved. Each club should establish project management requirements; ensure project managers are trained, know requirements. It is an issue of management standards, expectations. GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management Project Management Responsibilities - Overall Proj Manager(s) should prepare project plan Who do they report to? When? On what? Who are their international collaborators? To whom do they document expenditures? What is to be reported to the Club’s Inter-national Committee and to the Board? What publicity and reporting to Membership? Who prepares Foundation Grant reports? GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management Project Manager Responsibilities: Work towards shared understanding: What constitutes successful project management? Where are so called “unanticipated problems” likely to arise? Who addresses? What to do? GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management Project Planning in Three Phases Project Concept - the first cut, striving for precision in scope and impact. Detailed Project Plan - laying out exactly what needs to be done, etc. Project Evaluation Plan – the scheme for determining if we did it. GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management Clear Project Concept should come first Specific Project goal(s) – verifiable, and Specific Beneficiaries - primary, secondary, Measures of Success very clear. Context in which project is to be conducted Project Managers Supporting Partners The project concept may be sufficient for discussion and preliminary approvals GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management Detailed Project Plan should include: Project Concept, as further refined Project Objectives – precise, verifiable Beneficiaries, primary and secondary Stages of project – for larger projects. Tasks that must be accomplished For each task, Assign Time required, Estimated Costs and person responsible for each task, obstacles defined Establish timeline, key milestones and Budget for entire project Establish reporting schedule and responsibility for reports Establish management plan, who is responsible for what Plan the evaluation: How to measure success GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management Include plan for your Project Evaluation in your Project Plan Key question: Have you impacted the beneficiaries the way you described? Have you accomplished the objectives in exactly the way set forth in the project plan? What measures are appropriate to answer these questions? How will you obtain the data necessary to know? GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management Common Problems Lack of Clear Project Goals Lack of precision complicates, mask problems Beneficiaries are not clearly defined Be rigorous, determine numbers Define how you will measure or verify success. Articulate precisely the expected “impacts.” Planning for good project evaluation often reveals problems in the execution phases. GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management Special Problem Determine the precise roles and tasks of your international Rotary or NGO partners. Put it in writing. Exchange of letters Memorandum of Understanding The more folks involved, the greater the distances involved, the slower the communications, the more opportunity for differing interpretations and “foul-ups” GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management And one more time…. The Essentials Defined Project Managers - “Two deep” plus Explicit Accountability Arrangement for results, funding, communications, reports Clear Written Project Concept Well Defined Partnership Arrangements Suitably Detailed Project Plan, including key tasks, budgets, milestones, evaluation scheme GBOlson 1/12/06

Effective Project Management EXERCISE: Identify Some Best Practices that will lead to effective project management. For projects with other US/Canadian Partners For projects with Rotary Int’l Partners For Rotary Foundation funded projects For projects with cooperating NGO organizations but no Rotary partner. List suggested best practices GBOlson 1/12/06