Project Management

A Project is defined as a set of discrete activities aimed at specific

objectives with a defined budget and limited time frame
Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and
techniques to project activities to meet the specific project
requirements
Why Plan a Project?
To give credibility to the developmental effort
To ensure ownership of the developmental strategy as well as the intervention
To improve efficiency of the development practice and methodology
To provide basis for monitoring and control
To facilitate formalized contingency planning
Project Management needs well-defined project purpose, objectives,
team roles, organizational roles and resources
Project is managed by managing the Project Cycle
Project Cycle helps in implementing the project smoothly and in an
organized manner; one step leads to another logically
 Identificatio
n

Feedback & Future Stages

Appraisal

Evaluation

Negotiation
& Approval

Implementation & Monitoring

 Project Management

PROJECT CYCLE:
 Identification: Again through a bottom-up system; relying on
stakeholder consultation, Council Process; using techniques like
Problem Tree Analysis with Pre-feasibility Study
 Appraisal: alternative plans are assessed in detail;
techniques like SWOT are also used; has 6 Dimensions:
1) Technical– to ascertain if the project is soundly designed,
appropriately engineered and follows accepted standards
2) Institutional– whole array of government policies are looked into in
detail; capacity, staffing issues are also significant
3) Economic– techniques like Cost-Benefit Analysis, IRR and Cost-
Effectiveness Analysis establish the economic viability and productivity
4) Financial– provides the basis for assessing the likelihood of project
sustainability
5) Social– SCBA and Social Impact Assessment for assessing social
costs, displacement and fallouts
6) Environmental– to determine risk to human and ecological health
 Project Management
 Negotiation & Approval:
 Approval by the Council gives legitimacy required to execute it and take it to
the logical conclusion
 Council Process brings in the element of ‘voice’, while approval by the DDC
gives the project technical legitimacy
 Powers of Administrative Approval and Technical Sanction to be clear
 Implementation & Monitoring:
 Project team roles and responsibilities
 Physical work
 Communication Strategy- designed to call for action & behaviour change
 Project Stakeholder Management– detailed, step-by-step strategy
 Indicators-based Monitoring & Mid-term Evaluation (to keep the project on
track and for taking corrective action promptly)
 Commissioning (when a project actually starts to deliver the output)
 Completion & Evaluation:
 Signing off; results handed over to the end-users; Project team disbanded and
Project Office closed
 Indicators-based Evaluation (Summative) and Feedback
 Project Management
 In Local Government projects, Project Stakeholder Management is also an
important aspect. Stakeholders are persons or groups that have, or claim to
have, ownership, rights or interests in a project and its activities: past, present
and future
 The Project team or Manager has to:
• Identify key stakeholders
• Identify the specific ‘stake’
• Evaluate stakeholder influence
• Modify project strategy
 INDICATORS (for M&E):
 Input Indicators: People: Number of teachers in schools, number of doctors/
nurses per bed; Material: Number of books supplied, medicines supplied,
equipment procured & supplied; Finances: Budget provided
 Output Indicators: Number of girls enrolled in primary schools, number of
patients seen by doctor per day, number of operations performed per day
 Outcome Indicators: Increased female literacy, Increased employment,
decrease patient mortality etc.