This document discusses international project management and intercultural communication challenges. It provides an overview of project management disciplines, models, and the project manager profession. It then discusses international projects, specifically international consortia agreements. As an example, it outlines the GAIA TRADE FACTORY consortium which promotes competitiveness in the ICT sector. Finally, it examines intercultural communication challenges that can occur in international projects, and risk mitigation strategies.

1. International Consortium and Project
Management
Intercultural Communication Challenges
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2. Contents
I. Introduction to Project Management
1. Discipline
2. Models
3. Project Manager Profession
II. International Projects
1. European Context
2. International Consortia Agreements
3. GAIA TRADE FACTORY
III. Intercultural Communication
1. Discipline
2. Challenges
3. Project related Risk Management
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3. Introduction to Project Management
Discipline
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› The discipline of initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing the work
of a team to achieve specific goals within the given constraints: scope, time,
quality and budget.
› With technological projects in particular, the main task is people management,
optimizing their inputs to meet pre-defined objectives: scope development in
time, costs and with the required quality.
› Processes considered:

4. Introduction to Project Management
Models
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› Solid Planning
› Strict monitoring and controlling
› Focus on processes
› Vertical organization / specialization
› Established work flows and rules
› Detailed requirements
› Flexibility and adaptability to change
› Focus on the final results
› Multidisciplinary and self-managed teams
› Activity overlapping
› Customer Collaboration and Continuous
Delivery
› No Detailed requirements initially
› Predictive – Waterfall - RUP › Adaptable – Agile - SCRUMBAN

5. Introduction to Project Management
Project Manager
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› In charge of managing all people involved in the project.
› Must possess a combination of skills, including inquisitive abilities, as well as
ability to detect assumptions and resolve interpersonal conflicts.
› Main task through the project lifecycle  ‘risk management’
› Identification
› Constant measurement (formal and
informal)
› Decision-making to ensure that risks
are under control and that
uncertainty is kept to a minimum

6. Introduction to Project Management
› Professional Certifications based on Project Management standards:
› PMI (Project Management Institute): https://www.pmi.org – PMBoK
› PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments): https://www.prince2.com/uk – PRINCE2
› IPMA (International Project Management Association): http://www.ipma.world/ – ICB
› ISO-21500: International Standard published in 2012
Some Data on technological projects (Source KPMG):
30% Do not meet customer expectations // 40% Not completed on time or budget
// Only 11% of organisations succeed in IT Projects bringing value to business
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Project Manager Profession

7. International Projects
European Context
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› Financing Programmes:
› ”Digital Single Market” or ”Innovation, Research and Development”
› H2020: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en
› CEF: https://ec.europa.eu/cefdigital/
› Locals to promote Internationalization”
› Fomento de Consorcios Internacionales of 2016 and 2017 (DFB), Interleian (Basque Government)
› Promoting internationalization of SMEs with cooperation between several companies
› Opportunity Search
› Any volume > €130K  Published in TED
• New features for email alerts of new notices
published
• New filtering criteria: NUTS codes (European Regions),
CPV codes (Common Procurement Vocabulary)

8. International Projects
International Consortia Agreements
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› It is usually necessary to create a consortium to submit a proposal (Knowledge /
Experience and Capabilities)
› Publicly funded international projects tend to have transnationality as a
requirement  Partners in other countries.
› Search for partners is key to the success of a project:
› Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)
› Chambers of Commerce
› Search Tools from several Institutions
› Networking
› Event attendance
› All member partners of the Consortium must meet the requirements of the call
for tenders, and should be complementary to each other.
“Proposal Preparation must be managed as a Project”

9. GAIA Trade Factory
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›Association of leading Basque Companies in the ICT sector
›+ 40 years of experience
›+ 5,000 professionals
›+ €230 Million Turnover
›Strong presence in the Spanish and LATAM markets

10. International Projects
Clear Focus of GTF: European Union Institutions
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GTF in two sentences:
“If you want to go fast, go alone;
If you want to go far, go together”
“an innovative project,
with international vocation,
which fosters business competitiveness
in a key sector for development”

11. International Projects
Focus of GTF: European Union Institutions
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12. Intercultural Communication
› Culture: social behaviour and norms found
in human societies.
› These norms vary between different
cultures  learn to play according to rules
to effectively relate with other cultures.
› Attitudes and Behaviours: how they
communicate, how they verify confidence,
awareness and motivation.
› Intercultural Communication: studies
communication across different cultures
and social groups, or how culture affects
communication.
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Discipline
Language fluency &
Technical background
knowledge in the context
of the project are essential

13. Intercultural Communication
Challenges
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› We must consider various cultural aspects to avoid conflicts:
1. Norms and traditions
2. Values and beliefs
3. Attitudes and behaviours
 The integration process between communication and culture consists of:
1) perception, 2) cognitive patterns, 3) verbal behaviour, 4) non-verbal behaviour, 5) context influence
Caution with assumptions!

14. Intercultural Communication
Risk Management
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› Lack of internal cohesion and fluidity
› Different ways to understand
Teamwork
› Lack of personal links derived from
physical, idiomatic and cultural
distance
› Lack of trust among members of the
consortium
› Appearance of differences of criteria
generating tensions and conflicts
› Prior pooling  Ensure we all share the same
goals
› Methods, dynamics, routines…
› Coordinate diverse ways of working as a team
› Adapt leadership style to cultural
characteristics of unknown people
› Frequent contact, both formal and informal
› Search for emotional attunement and pay
attention to ambiguous communication codes
› Remember the common goal above all
› Mediation and resolution of conflicts: applying
tolerance, appreciation for differences and
flexibility of judgment
› Problems / Specific Risks › Mitigation Actions Proposed

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icanadas@gfi.es
Iñigo Cañadas Manso
Project Manager
Public Administration // Projects
Gfi Spain
@IcanadasM
Gfi Norte
C/ Licenciado Poza 55, Planta 3ª Planta
Bilbao 48013
Telephone: +34 94 42 418 25
Mobile: +34 6 62 17 79 30