Hello everyone, it has been a while since I felt encouraged to write in a technical forum for the exchange of ideas. The activities of project management in recent years (at least three of them) have been thorough and insightful, especially on the topic about which I will try to explain my point of view as project manager: the role of the sponsor in the successful completion of projects.

According to the fundamental definitions of various theoretical compendia in the field of project management (PMI, PRINCE, PITBM and others), it is possible to recognize that the definition of the word “sponsor” commonly refers to the person or group of persons who have interest in making the project successful, through their authority to provide resources and support its implementation. This definition leads immediately to a concept directly proportional to the potential success of a project, and the level of conviction of the sponsor, regarding the resulting benefits and derivatives revenues from the success, cannot have the slightest margin of doubt.

May I make a first suggestion, based on theory and experience: dear project manager, if your sponsor has ceased to believe in the project, regardless of technical reasons, regardless their empathic or conjectural thinking, do not wait, you should start working on closing the work.  Sincerely consider discussing the revision of the project objectives, and in accordance with those definitions, prepare a scenario in which the closure of the project is proposed. This measure will allow you to avoid an unnecessary period of uncertainty and agony, especially for your project team. Few risks could be more catastrophic than working with a sponsor who is not convinced of the project execution, because through time the sponsor may turn into direct opponent.

Another important role of the sponsor is to actively support during the initiation stage of the project, especially in the design of the scope and elaboration of the constituent instrument. He must understand basic concepts of project management, such as the triple constraint, risk management, stakeholder management, among others, i.e., he must envision the scope he wants for the project, the time needed to reach the goals, and which resources may be assigned this purpose.

The next suggestion I can draft in this regard: dear project manager, if your sponsor does not know these concepts, a situation that often occurs regularly, but especially in the public sector, take enough time to explain what happens when the scope is altered. When deadlines are not met or are unrealistic, what is the impact when we do not have enough resources, or worse, when the allocation of additional resources does not shorten the delays? I really like the example stating, “no matter what type of cares the pregnant women receive, it will always take about nine months to give birth to the baby.”

As a parenthesis, not far from the proposed issue, it is important to emphasize the difficulties that several sponsors and project managers must face in the public sector. I start with the most common, bidding processes and extensive contracts with countless signatures of certification, review and approval, which are added to the decision process and possibility of funding to develop the project. Another factor that causes problems to sponsors and managers in the public sector is the constant changes of policy and vision of institutional authorities. This means that the original plans are difficult to maintain (projects of more than 24 months) in medium and long terms. Without any doubt, the change of government in the public sector institutions often leads to changes of sponsor, with another vision, and sometimes, even resistance to the original conception of the project implementation. And as a final point, and perhaps this the worst straitjacket, is the impossibility to generate addendums or contract modifications that improve or help modulate the conditions of the project for fear of the local comptroller’s agency, which, in a high percentage, is unreceptive. End of this parenthesis…

If your sponsor handles these concepts, ensure that key stakeholders of the project also understand it, so that your sponsor is not influenced negatively and change his mind during the project implementation. Another risk, which will be critical during the project execution cycle is that some of the variables of the triple constraint (scope, time and resources), change without proceeding with an evaluation and correction.

A fundamental concept is to mention that a project is expected to have as a result the generation of change, either with the development of a new product, a new service, or a new way to proceed. The sponsor must be an active agent of change, a seller of the project. The role of the sponsor in this respect should allow other interested parties and future users of the project results, to feel motivated to support it. The sponsor should definitely be a promoter of the project, and should not fail to lead by example; In addition, the commitment and level of support by the sponsor should not only exist when the project walks progress with measurements in green. In the difficult times of the project, the supporting role of the sponsor is essential from many angles: understanding the issues, they participate in solutions and maintain active and ongoing communication with the project management, and an “extremely busy” sponsor who cannot maintain the needed level of communication, so is not committed to the project at the desirable level.

I share my final recommendation regarding this brief reflection on the role of sponsors. If you, as a project manager, perceives that the sponsor does not sell its execution or only support you during the “sweet” moments of the project, it is time to review your cluster of stakeholders and check if the communication strategies are adequate. If despite this validation, you cannot find visible problems, and the communication continues to degrade to the point of no response to requests for meetings or communications (formal or informal), it is time to consider once again the validity and feasibility of the project, or perhaps, your permanence as a manager.

Definitely, the role of a sponsor is crucial to the success of a project, and the experience during these years managing project portfolios, allow me suggesting that the idea of ​​a “dynamic duo” between Sponsor and Project Management to achieve success is not quite close to reality, it is the reality…

A hug to everyone…

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