1. Working backwards: project management for research grants
Karen Fisher and kylie valentine
Collaborative Research Network Southern Cross University
9 May 2013
Social Policy Research Centre

2. Project management steps
Starting
Planning
Implementation
Closing

3. Project management in a research context
Why do researchers struggle with project management?
Research words Project words
 Investigation  Implementation
 Analysis  Timelines
 Exploration  Expectations
 Debate  Compliance
Peers, readers, students  Clients, supervisors, supervised

4. Reflection about your project management style
Think of a project or activity for which you have responsibility
Discuss with someone you don’t know
Which of these steps have been important for managing your project or activity:
Starting
Planning
Implementation
Closing
If something has gone wrong, where has it gone wrong?

5. Starting a project
Proposal development – purpose, conceptual framework, research questions, literature, methods, analysis
Contract management – deliverables, responsibilities, intellectual property, cost
Client/funder management – contact person and expectations
Project and team management – researchers, collaborators, advisers, other resources

6. Planning a project
Design within resource scope – purpose, conceptual framework, research questions, literature, methods, analysis
Timeframe – sequence whole project backwards
Deliverables
Tasks
Responsibilities – match to skills, supervision, resources, coordination
Communication – funder, team, stakeholders
Quality – ethics, risk, advice, review, Indigenous protocol

7. Implementing a project
Manage within resource scope – budget and time impact of changes
Timeframe – monitoring deliverables, tasks, responsibilities
Communication –
Funder – set planning and progress meetings, , progress summaries
Team – set regular team and supervision meetings
Stakeholders – key informant phone calls, advisory group, web (project description, summary publications, distribution), invite participation
Quality – ethics, risk, advice, review, cost, changes
Set regular review and communication above

8. Closing a project Dissemination – publications, speaking, media, web
Evaluate the project management – internal, external
Relationship with funder – future work, referee
Compliance – authorship, ethics, finance, Indigenous protocol

9. Informing your project management style
Think of a project or activity for which you have responsibility – the same one or new
Discuss with someone else you don’t know
Which of these steps will you do something new to manage your project or activity:
Starting
Planning
Implementation
Closing

10. Contacts
Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052 ph