The Resource Centre, London

28th February 2007 - 1st March 2007
24th April 2007 - 25th April 2007

An intensive two-day workshop for 20 participants with responsibility for project management

Attendance fee: £340 per delegate including VAT,
lunch and project management resourcesToday, the Voluntary Sector is expected to deliver high quality services that match or exceed the standard of those provided by the statutory and commercial sectors. Funders are increasingly seeking evidence of effective project management when assessing the capabilities of charities seeking grants and contracts. It is vital that those who work in the sector have the skills and tools to meet this challenge.

‘Running Successful Projects’ is a two-day course designed to help those with project management responsibilities to work in a more efficient and effective way. It has been specifically designed for the voluntary sector, and is highly practical and pragmatic in its approach. It provides a comprehensive introduction to the processes and techniques of project management, supported with a series of resources which delegates have found to be of lasting value. These include a comprehensive workbook and a set of Word, Excel and PowerPoint templates which delegates can adapt and use to manage their own projects.

Content of each day is set out overleaf. The course is presented by Stuart Kelly, associate trainer in our Strategic Consultancy team. Stuart has 25 years’ project management experience in the international telecommunications industry and has worked in recent
years to adapt the project management tools used in industry to the particular needs of the voluntary sector.

Stuart Kelly

“Very detailed and thought provoking.
The step by step guide to project management
has been a great source of information.”
Jessie Junkere, Finance Manager, The Aurora Charity

“This course is devised and presented in a way
which makes it useful on a variety of levels.”
Richard Wilson, Service Development Manager, Mencap

Programme includes:

‘Running Successful Projects’ is designed to meet the needs of those in the voluntary sector who have direct responsibility for delivering projects. These may range from implementing a new IT system to commissioning a building, running a conference or launching a new range of services. The course provides two days of intensive ‘hands on’ training in project management tools and techniques tailored to the needs of the voluntary sector and a number of resources which should be of ongoing value in your role.

The first day begins with an introduction to the golden rules of project management and the key tools available to structure your work and coordinate the contributions of others. We then explore in detail the six stage project model recommended by Action Planning. This includes effective project definition and objective setting, development of the planning process, getting and keeping your team together, monitoring and control processes, effective communication and how to adapt the plan to reality through regular reviews. We also look at handover and exit, a much neglected phase of project management and ‘what can go wrong’; the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

The second day concentrates on two key areas; financial appraisal of a project and task scheduling. We adapt cost/benefit analysis tools from the commercial sector to decision making in the voluntary sector, examine discounted case flow as a measure of ongoing costs and benefits and explain how financial information on new projects can best be presented in a bid.

We then help participants acquire skill at scheduling, including how to integrate linking and overlapping tasks, develop a detailed project plan and present information diagrammatically. There is a particular emphasis on Critical Path Analysis, identifying the project elements which are critical to timescale, and on finding ways to level the path. Finally, we review the project management software packages suited to the voluntary sector and the particular characteristics of large projects.

All delegates receive a comprehensive manual which extends the course material, and a CD with a selection of Word, Excel and PowerPoint templates which can be modified to suit their own organisations.

Organised by Action Planning in association with Third Sector