The Vrinda Handbook - The Challenge of Designing, Executing and Implementing the Development Programmes and Actions
see General Index
See the issue: How to design and manage successful cooperation programmes?
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We have spoken before of the "projectized
organization", i.e. the organization that organizes its activity in programs
that are implemented through projects and that intends to empower project team
to act with autonomous discretion in project management.
A project is a temporary process undertaken in order to achieve a specific
result. Project is "temporary" because once the result is achieved the effort
terminates. So projects are different from the repetitive processes that are
meant to continue indefinitely. Building a school in a village is a project
(that terminates once the school is built); educating the village children is a
constantly renewed process (that is expected to continue generation after
generation).
Etymologically the word "project" derives from Latin "proiectum" (from pro-
"forward" + combining iacere "to literally meaning "something thrown forth"; the
use of the word project as "scheme, proposal, mental plan" is present in English
from c.1600. The use of the word "project" for a time bound specific effort is
motivated by the fact that an action, in order to achieve the intended results
and produce the expected outcomes, should be first planned adequately and then
implemented in line with the plans. Working "by projects" is the management
style where the achievement of new objectives is the priority
over the maintenance of a certain structure or process. In case of development
cooperation activities, where there are a number of actors co-operating in a
non-hierarchical structure, such an element of "planning" and of "working along
the plans" is an essential prerequisite for success. So development cooperation
actions are all conceived as "projects". And the maintenance of the status quo
is never the purpose of development cooperation that generally takes place where
there is poverty and is meant to generate a "change" in the vicious circle of ignorance
and exclusion. So "change" is a key term for development project and the
identification of what needs to be changed is the same as the
identification of the expected outcome of the project. However this change
should be harmonious to the culture of the local populations and cannot be
superimposed by others. A characteristics of development cooperation actions is
that they are "beneficiary based", i.e. that are designed and managed to serve
the need of the target population (and not the needs of the donors or of the
employed organizations). This means that what justified an action are not its
immediate results but the expected “outcome-s". The key of success of
development cooperation activities is the participatory
process that is meant to manage
the projects so that its outcomes serve primarily the interest of the
beneficiaries and not primarily the interest of the organizations that work at
it or of those who put the money (i.e. the "donors").
Projects are always conceived within wider programmes, i.e. a broad framework of scopes, goals, and work methodologies. In development cooperation the programmes identify the development needs of the beneficiaries and define the overall objectives to be achieved in order to respond to those needs. Programs therefore provide a framework where different projects, sharing the same overall objectives, can be implemented in a co-ordinated manner. (See also: The 3 level hierarchy of project/programme objectives).
Contents[hide] |
Basic Concepts Of Project Management
⇒ How
to design and manage successful cooperation programmes?
in
other sections of this handbook
Project
Planning Tools
Project
Execution Tools
Basic concepts of project management
What is a project; introduction to project management; project phases
Stages of project management:
Detailed Planning or design stage; defining the scope into details and developing a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Manage CSSQ (Cost, Scope, Schedule, and Quality), where the Project Manager must manage changes to the Project Scope and Project Schedule, implement Quality Assurance and Quality Control processes, control and manage costs as established in the Project Budget.
The 9 topic areas of project management knowledge
Checklists:
notes for later making tips etc.
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Africa - Need Assessment - Eugenio & Osman in Liberia and Guinea