1. Effective Project Management World Community Service/International Projects
Brent Olson

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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