Executive sponsor (sometimes called project sponsor or senior responsible owner) is a role in
project management
Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. Th ...
, usually the senior member of the project board and often the chair. The project sponsor will be a senior
executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dir ...
in a corporation (often at or just below board level) who is responsible to the business for the success of the
project
A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal.
An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...
.
Responsibilities
The sponsor has a number of interfaces and responsibilities for the project.
Board
The responsibilities for which the sponsor is accountable to the board are:
* Provides leadership on culture and values
* Owns the business case
* Keeps project aligned with organization's strategy and portfolio direction
* Governs project risk
* Works with other sponsors
* Focuses on realization of benefits
* Recommends opportunities to optimize cost/benefits
* Ensures continuity of sponsorship
* Provides assurance
* Provides feedback and lessons learned
Project manager
The governance activities that take place between the sponsor and the
project manager
A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined f ...
are:
* Provides timely decisions
* Clarifies decision-making framework
* Clarifies business priorities and strategy
* Communicates business issues
* Provides
resources
Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants. Resources can broadly be classified upon their a ...
* Engenders trust
* Manages relationships
* Supports the project manager's role
* Promotes ethical working
Project stakeholders
In addition to these activities the following activities take place between the sponsor and other
project stakeholder
Project stakeholders are persons or entities who have an interest in a given project. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), the term ''project stakeholder'' refers to "an individual, group, or organization, who may affect, be affect ...
s:
* Engages stakeholders
* Governs stakeholder communications
* Directs client relationships
* Directs governance of users
* Directs governance of suppliers
* Arbitrates between stakeholders
Impact
Due to the problem-solving needs of the role, the executive sponsor often needs to be able to exert pressure within the organization to overcome resistance to the project. For this reason a successful executive sponsor will ideally be a person with five personal attributes - understanding, competence, credibility, commitment and engagement.
A few research studies have been published that not only detail the role of this individual within project management but also provide a way to ensure that the success of a project is increased if this individual plays a more active role.
Senior Responsible Officer role
The
UK government
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treats the role of a Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) as distinct from the sponsor's role, referring to projects where the sponsor "may be considered to be at a very senior level or part of a sponsoring group, above the SRO". A
Public Administration Select Committee
The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee, formerly the Public Administration Select Committee, is a select committee appointed by the British House of Commons to examine the reports of the Parliamentary and Health S ...
report published in 2011 and critical of UK
government IT procurement, noted that SRO's had often moved on to new roles during the course of an acquisition project, and this was one of the reasons why problems had been encountered.
[House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee]
Government and IT - "a recipe for rip-offs": time for a new approach
Volume 1, page 8, published 28 July 2011, accessed 15 November 2022
See also
*
Project sponsorship Project sponsorship is the ownership of projects on behalf of the client organization.
There are two main differences between project sponsorship and project management. Firstly project sponsorship includes the identification and definition of the ...
References
Further reading
*
Exploring the Role of the Project Sponsor', conducted by members of the
Project Management Institute
The Project Management Institute (PMI, legally Project Management Institute, Inc.) is a U.S.-based not-for-profit professional organization for project management.
Overview
PMI serves more than five million professionals including over 680,00 ...
, in particular, Dr Lynn Crawford and Christine Brett (both at the
University of Technology
An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...
in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
).
*
Top Challenges in managing Executive Sponsor Programs ', based on research from the Executive Sponsor Industry Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Executive Sponsor
Project management