Governance and Support in the Sponsoring of Projects and Programs

Abstract

Several factors have combined to draw attention to the importance of sponsoring projects and programs. One factor is that after several decades of attempting to improve success rates of projects by focusing on project-based management and the project management competence of practitioners, convincing evidence demonstrates that success or failure of projects is not entirely within the control of the project manager and project team. Contextual issues are crucial in influencing the progress and outcomes of projects, and a key theme that has emerged is the importance of top management support. Another factor that has drawn attention to the sponsorship role is increased focus on corporate governance resulting from numerous high-profile corporate collapses, which have highlighted the need for accountability, transparency, and the ability to implement strategy. The sponsorship role provides the critical link between corporate and project governance and is important in ensuring that governance requirements are met and that support is provided to projects and programs. This article reports on research designed to address both formal and informal aspects of the sponsorship role and to provide guidance to organizations and professional organizations by defining the role and responsibilities of the sponsor within corporate and project governance frameworks and identifying the characteristics of effective performance of the sponsor role. First, the role of sponsorship in the governance context is introduced; this is followed by a review of the literature relating to the sponsorship role, including its treatment in project and general management literature and in standards. The research methodology was specifically designed to take a holistic view of the sponsorship role, by examining the role in its project/program and organizational context and ensuring inclusion of views and experiences of sponsors as well as those of project managers, team members, and other stakeholders. A qualitative approach was adopted, focusing on a small number of case-study organizations and projects/programs enabling researchers to gain a rich understanding of the environment in which the role of the sponsor is realized. Over 108 interviews relating to 36 projects/programs in nine organizations from five geographic regions (Australia, China, Europe, North America, and South Africa) were recorded, transcribed, and then coded by the five researchers involved in the study. A priori codes derived from five preliminary studies were used for primary coding of the data. As the transcripts were coded, the researchers reviewed the data for emergent themes that might suggest additional codes. Analysis of the literature and the extensive qualitative data led to the development of a conceptual model for making sense of the sponsor's role. This model reflects the differing perspectives that may exist at the interface of the act of governing the project, which requires that the project be looked at from the perspective of the parent organization (governance), a...

Project portfolios in dynamic environments: Organizing for uncertainty

“…This connection between project governance and corporate govemance is most often provided by a project sponsor (Crawford and Cooke-Davies, 2005;Crawford et al, 2008;Dinsmore and Cooke-Davies, 2006a) who ensures that the project is kept in line with the corporate objective through sorne form of hierarchy of governance boards responsible for steering, supporting the projects, and deciding on key issues (Kendall and Rollins, 2003; Office of Governrnent Commerce, 2008a). The relationship between the project manager and the sponsor has many sirnilarities with the relationship between directors and the shareholders at the corporate level This analogy is used by sorne authors to study project govemance using transaction cost analysis and agency theory (Müller and Turner, 2005;Turner and Keegan, 2001).…”

Illuminating the role of the project owner

“…Our observations of these attributes are as As stated above, the role of the project owner can be divided into two parts (Crawford et al, 2008): the governance and supporting role. The desirable attributes cover both the governance role (items 1, 2, and 3) and the supporting role (items 5 and 6).…”

“…Many project managers complain that the lack of competence of the project owners has a negative effect on project results. Very little research has examined the project owner role in any depth (Crawford et al, 2008).…”

“…The project owner has both a governing and supporting task (Crawford et al, 2008). Governance implies deciding the mission, goals, plans and organization of the project.…”

A new governance approach for multi-firm projects: Lessons from Olkiluoto 3 and Flamanville 3 nuclear power plant projects

“…Miller and Hobbs (2005) have introduced the concept of governance regime to describe context and time-dependent and self-organizing processes in large projects involving multiple actors. Crawford et al (2008) have discussed how projects need to be governed from the perspective of their parent organization. Winch (2001) has discussed the governance of a project coalition involving multiple actors, focusing attention towards multiple transactions that occur throughout the project life cycle.…”