Funding and Managing Projects Matthew Woollard and Mark Merry History Data Service University of Essex

Planning stage  From concept to funding Effectuation stage  From funding to delivery Planning and Effectuation

Arts and Humanities Research Board  Joint Information Systems Committee  Economic and Social Research Council (especially the Teaching and Learning Research Programme)   The Leverhulme Trust  Funding Bodies I

Research Support Libraries Programme (RSLP)  British Library Co-Operation and Partnership Programme  National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA)  The Nuffield Foundation  Funding Bodies II

Further information on potential funding sources:  Funding Bodies III

Project Scope Aims and objectives Goals Concrete deliverables Avoid creeping scope

Project Plan Cover everything! Address the aims and deliverables indicated in the project scope

Pilot Project Best way of understanding workload Identify problems Clearer picture of what project will require in terms of staff, equipment, time etc. Test methods Looks good in funding applications… BUT … don’t be fooled into believing a pilot solves all your problems. Good planning is just as important

Management/Steering Committee Oversees project Facilitates reporting/monitoring Assists in demonstrating clear management structure

Budget I Accurate in-depth assessment of costs Quotations Costs valid for life of project University Research Office

Budget II University Computing Services  Installation  Maintenance Fit for purpose

Workflow Activity path Consider workflow carefully… Effective and efficient from start to finish Projects fail on poorly specified workflows Allow for slippage (but not too much!)

Human Resources Recruitment is sometimes difficult Recruitment money Identify potential project staff Training Overseeing

Time Management/Scheduling Ensuring project finishes on time Hierarchical decomposition/PERT Estimation of duration of each process Creating a proper schedule Include milestones?

Quality Control/Quality Assurance This should be ongoing Check ‘actuals’ against plan Ensure all deliverables (databases, images, texts AND metadata) meet specified standard(s)

Communications/Monitoring Clear lines of communication between:  Management and staff  Project and users Monitoring:  What you plan and what you achieve should be similar  Frequent and regular

Risk Management Anticipate risks, if possible ‘Don’t hide problems…manage them’

Delivery Various potential strategies:  Phased  Completed Market:  Planning stage – identify market  Effectuation stage – ‘do’ the marketing