Fundraisers Guide
Storytelling and Fundraising for Cultural Organisations

Project
Management
Tools and
Resources
Project Management Fundamental
Principles

What is a project?
• A project is a temporary organisational structure set up to create a unique
product or service (output) with certain constraints such as time, cost, quality
• Temporary means that the project has a well-defined start and end.
• Unique output means that the project’s product or service has not been created before. It may be
similar to another product, but there will always be a degree of uniqueness.
• A project’s output may be a product or a service.
• The whole project is carried out under certain constraints. These can relate to scheduling,
budgeting, quality, but also to the project’s organizational environment (e.g. risk attitude,
capabilities, available capacity, etc.) (Credits).

Why dowe do projects?
• Every project aims to introduce a new product/service or to change an existing
one. The Achievement of the goal is expected to bring about benefits to the
organisation.
• Projects can also be seen as a transformational process, turning ideas into reality.
• Projects may be carried out to:
• Maintain current business operations;
• Transform business operations;
• Improve the way of working, so the organisation can be more efficient in the
future

ProjectManagement:
Definition & tools
• Project Management (PM) can be described as the activities of planning,
organising, securing, monitoring and managing the resources and work
necessary to deliver specific project goals in an effective and efficient way.
• The PM approach used should always be tailored to the needs of the project.
• A key component of PM is project documentation, which covers the project
from its start to its completion. It forces people to put plans into words;
defines the project scope; ensures that project actors share the same
expectations and are aware of the project requirements; facilitates
communication; allows for monitoring progresses; and provides a record of
important decisions. Project documentation should be clear and easy to
understand (Credits).

ProjectManagement:
Definition & tools
• A Project Support Office (PSO) is an optional organisational body that
provides services supporting PM. A PSO can:
• Offer administrative support and training;
• Collect, analyse and report on project progress;
• Assist with project scheduling, resource planning, coordination and Project
Management Information System (PMIS);
• Maintain a central project repository;
• Coordinate configuration management and quality assurance;
• Monitor adherence to methodology and organisational standards;
• Tailor the PM methodology to new best practices and help implement it (Credits).

Project Management:
Projects, programmes, portfolios
• It is important for all people involved in PM to understand the
differences between projects, programmes and portfolios.
• A programme is a collection of related projects grouped together to
facilitate the achievement of objectives that would have been
impossible if the projects were managed individually.
• Programme management is different from multi-project management,
which means managing several projects in parallel.
• While a Programme Manager (PgM) coordinates efforts between projects,
s/he does not directly manage the individual projects.
• Even when they are not inter-related, both projects and programmes
should be grouped together in a project portfolio to allow better
control over their resources and to facilitate their management.
Investment decisions, resources allocation, and priorities identification
are made at the portfolio level (Credits).

ProjectManagement:
Keycompetences(1)
PM involves more than creating schedules and budgets, and PMs
must have a wide range of technical and behavioural skills at their
disposal. It needs to:
• Understand the PM methodology used in their organisation
• Have the technical competences required to effectively manage the
initiation, planning, execution, control and closing of a project;
• Know how to communicate, lead, motivate, negotiate, solve
problems, conduct meetings / workshops, report project status etc.;

ProjectManagement:
Keycompetences(1)
PM needs to:
• Understand the business context and the general project
environment (i.e. sociocultural, political, physical, etc.);
• Understand organisational policies and standards;
• Understand how the end-product or service will be maintained
after it is delivered;
• Additionally, subject-specific knowledge (e.g. IT, policy, etc.) is
often relevant and useful

Storytelling for Cultural Organisations