Tim R.L. Fry School of Economics, Finance & Marketing How to Manage a Research Project or “What do I do now I’ve got the grant?” Tim R.L. Fry School of Economics, Finance & Marketing

What is a Project? A planned undertaking [according to the webster dictionary] A one-time endeavor, delineated by a start and a completion A typical project will have: A charter (or mission) Requirements/Specifications Deliverable(s) Resources (people, money, materials, time, knowledge) Constraints Risks Deadline(s) The project manager is the facilitator for the project Project Management is a “role” someone must play Project Management deals with the art and science of making projects happen!

Why need Project Management? Project Complexity Division of responsibilities - specialization Knowledge & Expertise – breadth vs.depth A typical tri-partite project leadership model: Business Lead – owner of the purpose (know why) Technical Lead – subject matter expert (know how) Project Manager – make happen (know when; know who) All Three – work as a team (all must know what)

What do good project managers do? They Manage the entire Project Life Cycle and make sure it aligns with the vision & mission (strategy & charter) They Make Things Happen They Manage Resources : Time Money People Intellectual Capital To Drive : Efficiency Productivity Effectiveness, & Optimal Deployment of Resources

How do they do it? They Organize the Team They Plan & schedule They Manage the Deliverables Resources – time, money, people, knowledge Priorities Expectations Risks Project Life Cycle They Communicate They Monitor and Measure (set up metrics) They Document They Review, and make sure lessons are learned

Some PM tools & jargon Organization, organizational behavior Tasks, work breakdown structures Milestones, deadlines, on-time Network diagrams, PERT, CPM, Gantt Charts, Project plans Justification, budget, variance Status, reporting, communications Responsibilities, ownership, respect, trust Collaboration, teamwork, community Intellectual capital management, knowledge re-use Post mortem Quality, excellence

What did you get and what do you need? Great to get the funding but were you: Exactly funded? Assuming that you correctly budgeted and costs haven’t changed then the project is on the starting grid. Over funded? Maybe you padded the budget or costs are not as high as projected. Under funded? Maybe the project wasn’t fully funded (time or funds cut) or costs have risen.

What did you promise? Revisit the project Can it still be done? Do you have to modify and, if so, how? Is it still viable? Can the stated outputs still be delivered? Return to the funding body (bodies) for clarification. Seek new or extra funds from elsewhere Is this feasible?

On the starting grid Large amounts of paperwork to attend to! Contract/Funding Agreement/Letter of Engagement Terms and conditions. Timelines. Reporting requirements. Prepare your budget When does the income arrive? What are you spending money on? When is the expenditure required? What are the rules – funding body and university – concerning expenditures?

Working with others You will need to work closely with others to get onto and off the starting grid and throughout the project. Funding body (bodies) Research & Innovation Head of School and College office Financial Services Group (via your Finance Manager) People Services

Starting the project Most projects will involve you working with others These could be others “on the grant” who might be “equals”, “junior”, “senior” researchers Do researchers need to be recruited? Assistants, Associates, Fellows. Are these recruits to hand or where might we find them? How long will it take to recruit? Can they be found?

Running the project Manage your time, resources (people, equipment, money, space) Does your school actually have the space and other resources required? Budgets need to be assessed on a regular basis Manage others’ time and resources Deal with administrative issues such as time sheets Hit milestones. Produce Progress Reviews Produce Reports/Outputs

Closing thoughts Successfully managing your successful research project requires a number of skills Time management skills Resource management skills People management skills Negotiation skills Project management skills NOT the skills that you made you successful in getting your project funded! RMIT University©

Remember you actually have to do the research! One last thought …

Project managements in practice Project Coordination (GANTT) Meetings and communication flows Deliverables Milestones Financial issues

Communication structures / Communication flows Meetings (scopi differenti) Phone conferences Web-based communication platforms (extranet) Internal newsletter,… Reporting structures Meetings:

Deliverables Example one (basic) Example two (application and results)

Milestones One example

Financial issues

1.Payment modalities One pre-financing (upon entry into force) for the whole duration Interim payments based on financial statements (payment = cost accepted * funding rate) Retention (10%) Final payment

2. Eligible Costs (1) Eligible actual* during duration of project in accordance with its usual accounting and management principles recorded in the accounts of benficiary non-eligible (identifiable indirect taxes including VAT…)

2. Eligible Costs (2) *Average personnel costs accepted if : Consistent with the management principles and accounting practices & they do not significantly differ from actual personnel costs= if identified according to a methodology approved by the Commission (NEW)

3. Indirect Cost : For all: either actual overhead or simplified method flat rate of 20% of direct costs minus subcontracting and 3rd parties not used on the premises of the beneficiary. For Non profit Public Bodies, Secondary and Higher Education establishments, Research Organisations and SMEs unable to identify real indirect costs, may apply for a flat rate of 60% for funding schemes with RTD.

4. Certification (1) Certification will be provided on the basis of “Agreed Upon Procedure” (AUP) AUP the auditor provides information according to a specific format specified via agreed terms of reference (ToR) ToR is annexed to the grant agreement (Annex VII) AUP is derived from common practice in audits and corresponds to international audit standards 2 types of AUP: Report of factual findings on expenditure verification system verification

4. Certification (2) Certificate on financial statements (CFS) = AUP for expenditure verification Mandatory when requested funding reaches 375,000 Euro (except for project of 2 years or less: the CFS is submitted at the end) Mandatory for every beneficiary, except if a certification on the methodology is provided Not legally binding

4. Certification (3) Certificate on the methodology= AUP for system verification aims at certifying the methodology of calculating (average) personnel costs and overhead rates Valid throughout FP7, on a voluntary basis, must be accepted by EC Particularly aimed at legal entities with multiple participation Waives the obligation of certificates for interim payments Simplified certificate for final payments

4. Certification (4) Advantages of system certification : The EC will receive consistent certifications and cost claims cleaned from errors Beneficiaries will gain legal security Beneficiaries in many projects will have to submit less certificates EC and beneficiaries will have less processes to handle: less certificates EC gains significantly in terms of assurance on legality and regularity

4. Certification (5) Who can provide these certificates : Qualified auditors under the 8th Directive Independent Public bodies, secondary and higher education establishments and research organisations may opt for a competent public officer

5. Third party contribution and subcontracts Third parties carrying part of the work Subcontracts: tasks have to be indicated in Annex I awarded according to best value for money External support services may be used for assistance in minor tasks (not to be indicated in Annex I) Specific cases: EEIG, JRU, affiliates carry out part of the work (special clause) Third parties making available resources “Third parties”: to be indicated in Annex I, Costs may be claimed by the beneficiary Resources “free of charge” may be considered as receipts

Reporting (1) Periodic reports to be submitted by coordinator 60 days after end of period: - progress of the work - use of the resources and - Financial Statement (Form C) Final reports to be submitted by coordinator 60 days after end of project: - publishable summary report, conclusions and socioeconomic impact - covering wider societal implications and a plan on use and dissemination of results

Reporting (2) Commission has 105 days to evaluate and execute the corresponding payment No tacit approval After reception Commission may: Approve Suspend the time-limit requesting revision/completion Reject them giving justification, possible termination Suspend the payment

Dissemination Define stakeholders Dissemination Plan Presentations Accademia, Industria, Consumer groups, general public Dissemination Plan Websites, Pubblications, Workshop for industry Presentations Always make use of project template Prepare flyers following the template Prepare newsletter Translate it in all languages Events At least one event at the end of the project