Project Sponsorship: An Essential Guide for Those Sponsoring Projects Within Their Organizations

The role of project sponsor is critical in large projects during the development of the business case, for governance and assurance and as the person who decides that the project should continue or close at any stage. Yet in many organizations the skills of the sponsor are often assumed; he or she will be a senior manager who may well have no practical project experience at all. David West explains the roles and skills that lie at the heart of effective sponsorship. The sponsor acts as a lynch-pin between the Board and the Project Manager, communicating and translating requirements downwards and resource needs, progress and constraints back upwards. An over-zealous sponsor may be tempted to assume some of the project manager's responsibilities, whilst an ineffective sponsor may be invisible, leaving the project manager uninformed by, and unrepresented to, the Board. Project Sponsorship includes exercises, examples and case histories from the real world of projects. It is an essential guide for anyone assuming the important role of managing the business case of the project and will help you ensure that the organization is 'doing the right things' as well as 'doing things right'.

David West is Senior Technical Director and Head of Risk Management, WSP UK. He has 29 years experience of projects in the power, petro-chemical, building, leisure, health, defence, rail, and development sectors. During his career, David's roles across the project spectrum have included: designer, design manager, site manager, construction manager, project manager, project sponsor, risk manager, business unit manager and developer. He has also been an Associate Lecturer with the Open University teaching Finance and Marketing on the MBA programme.