WP1: Project Management

Description

The aim of this work package is to ensure the success of the project through appropriate coordination of the organizational, technological, methodological and financial activity. It is led by the coordinating partner, and lasts throughout the project. All partners will contribute to the work involved. Project management will be not only an administrative task, it will be essential to ensure that the work is performed in a timely manner throughout the project lifecycle. This monitoring process, which is a continuous task that ensures the consistency and coherency of the project, will be performed by a project steering committee that will be created with representatives of all work package leaders, which will meet every two months online. This committee will oversee the progress of the project while the day-to-day coordination is carried out by the project coordinator.

A Project Management Handbook will be created at the start of the project in order to ensure consensus and clarity within the consortium regarding reporting processes, risk management, contracts, conflicts and other issues. This work package will be linked to the Evaluation and Quality Assurance work package in order to make the most of synergies with that work.

The tasks in this work package focus principally on the day-to-day coordination and management of activity. The leading institution will assure overall management and monitoring of the quality and promptness of the activities of the partners as well as of the financial aspects of the project. It will prepare the interim and final reports about technical and financial progress, it will communicate with the European Agency and it will coordinate the communication with each National Agency. In its capacity as coordinator, the leader will take care of communication among the partners, also in order to solve problems and conflicts. The WP also includes the technological structure definition for both internal communication and task management. The partners will attend the meetings, prepare the reports required, contribute to evaluation and quality management and monitor the activities within their own packages.

Five management meetings – the 1st one (kick off meeting- M3) in Portugal (Porto), the 2nd one (meeting n.2 – M7) in Netherlands (Maastricht), the 3rd one (meeting n.3 – M13) in United Kingdom (Bolton), the 4th one (meeting n.4 – M18) in Poland (Krakow) and the last one (meeting n. 5 – M24) in Spain, will be planned. The results of all management meetings will coincide with different symposiums during the project that will be described in WP 10 (DISSEMINATION).

Deliverable 1. Project Management Handbook

This handbook will be created at the start of the project, and will contain a written collection of rules that will govern the work of the consortium and descriptions of key processes. It will also outline conflict resolution issues and reporting rules and processes. The handbook will be used to ensure that the roles, responsibilities and rights and obligations of the partners are clearly defined, in order to promote productive work.

Deliverable 2. Internal Progress Report 1

This report will be produced after six months, for internal consumption by the consortium. Its objective is to ensure that all are aware of the progress made and any emerging issues that need addressing. It will include information about resources used and progress made in the first six months of activity as well as reports on the deliverables due during the period. It will include a section by the Project steering committee and a report from the subcontracted external evaluator.

Deliverable 3. Interim Report

This document will be produced at the end of the first year of the project, and will follow EC guidelines. It will include detailed information on all the work done and the resources used in the first year of the project in each work package, the meetings held and deliverables produced, among other required information. As such it will constitute a complete picture of the situation of the project at Month 11, which will help the consortium to prepare the second year.

Deliverable 4. Internal Progress Report 2

This report will be produced after a year and 6 months, for internal consumption by the consortium. Its objective is to ensure that all are aware of the progress made and any emerging issues that need addressing. It will include information about resources used and progress made in the first eighteen months of activity as well as reports on the deliverables due during the period. It will include a section by the Project steering committee and a brief report from the subcontracted external evaluator.

Deliverable 5. Final Report

This document will be produced at the end of the project, and will follow EC guidelines. It will include detailed information on all the work done and the resources used during the project and the meetings held and all the deliverables produced, in particular those that refer to the impact and sustainability of the outcomes of the project after the end of the financed period, and the valorization of these to other sectors, among other required information.