WP 1 – Project Management and Administration

PERT-SAW-4

CESSDA SaW PERT Diagram

Objectives

Proper and sound management is crucial for such types of project. Not only does it entail financial and administrative monitoring of the overall consortium’s delivery of the work plan, but also efficient and collaborative scientific coordination.

These can be summarised as follows:

• To ensure day-to-day administrative & financial management of the grant while monitoring consortium members’ activities against a set schedule and contractual documents;
• To coordinate partners’ efforts and monitor work progress & achievement of project objectives against key indicators;
• To ensure consensus management and develop a spirit of cooperation among partners;
• To ensure project reporting & interface with the European Commission;
• To ensure the proper separation of finance, reporting, audit, and delivery of project activity from ongoing consortium work.

Description of work and role of partners Partners: CESSDA, Charles Beagrie Ltd, EKKE, TARKI Foundation, UTARTU, NUID UCD, ICSULisboa, FFZG, IEN, SU SAV

WP1 will be led by CESSDA AS. CESSDA AS will establish a Project Management Team (see 3.2, Management Structure) to handle the compliance (financial, administrative, audit) of the project (Task 1.1), and the scientific delivery of the work (Task 1.2).

Task 1.1 Project Compliance – The SaW Governance Council Lead partner: CESSDA AS.

Members of the Governance Council will get 0.5 PM each to enable them carry out the functions and responsibilities as members of the Council. The project will be administered in 3 reporting periods:

Period 1 – Month 1 to Month 8
Period 2 – Month 9 to Month 16
Period 3 – Month 17 to Month 24

The Governance Council, made up of CESSDA AS (representing the linked third parties) plus the Grant Beneficiary organisations, will meet 4 times through the project (Month 1, Month 8, Month 16, and Month 24). Governance Council meetings will be held in Bergen, Norway, using the CESSDA AS House conference facility at no cost to the project.

Meetings will be organised and minuted by CESSDA AS. The purpose of the Governance Council is to ensure the compliance of the project with the description of work and with the financial and administrative responsibilities in the Grant Agreements and the Consortium Agreement. The project management team in CESSDA AS (Main Office) is accountable to the Governance Council and will present Periodic Administration Reports on the use of resources, delivery of outputs, and achievement of milestones at the end of each reporting period. The requirements for financial and administrative reporting will be decided in detail at the first Governance Council meeting in Month 1.

CESSDA AS will provide an integrated project management and reporting tool for the whole project, ensuring the use of resources and the delivery of outputs is presented in real time and in a single common format for all participants. A derived RAG (red, amber, green) status for each Task will be available for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Governance Council meetings. Thus, each participant (linked third party and other partners) must produce a definitive statement of resources used and deliverables and milestones achieved by the end of each of the three reporting periods, using the integrated project management tool. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th Governance Council meetings will consider and sign off the Periodic Administrative Reports for the relevant period, each prepared by CESSDA AS (Main Office).

Task 1.2 Project Delivery and Quality – The SaW Delivery Committee Lead partner: CESSDA AS. 

This task will be led by CESSDA AS with 5 person months. Members of the Delivery Committee will each get 0.5 PM to enable them to carry out the functions and responsibilities as members of the Committee. The scientific coordination and quality assurance of the project will be achieved through the oversight of the Delivery Committee, chaired by CESSDA AS as the lead beneficiary and made up of the Task Leaders identified in each of the Work Packages.

The Delivery Committee will meet four times through the project (Month 1, Month 8, Month 16, and Month 24). Meetings will be in Bergen, Norway, using the CESSDA House meetings facility at no cost to the project. Meetings of the Governance Council and the Delivery Committee will be scheduled for the same working days to minimise travel and environmental costs.The first meeting in Month 1 is a kick-off meeting, to launch the project tasks in a coordinated and coherent way. Meetings in Months 8, 16 and 24 enable the coordination of Task activities and a Periodic Delivery Report. The Delivery Committee will also deliver a whole project Impact Assessment Report to the Governance Council.

The Periodic Quality Reports and final Project Impact Assessment will be prepared on behalf of the Task Leaders Committee by CESSDA AS (Main Office). The Delivery Committee represents the primary formal communication channel for the management and coordination of the project activities and deliverables. Project support, scientific advice, and task coordination will be delivered for the project through this team, with CESSDA AS (Main Office) acting as the communications and management hub. CESSDA AS (Main Office) will be responsible for establishing the necessary project documentation, communication channels, and reporting systems to enable the Delivery Committee to maintain oversight of the quality of the activities and deliverables of the project. Due to the scheduling of Governance Council and of Delivery Committee meeting events on successive days, each attendee will require the travel cost of four visits to the combined meetings in months 1, 8, 18, and 24. Where a person is both a Governance Council member and a Delivery Committee member, they receive one travel cost only. The design of the project means that all Work Package leaders and Task Leaders will meet at the four meetings at the start of the project and at the end of each of the three project periods. At other times Work Package leaders and their Task Leaders and participants will meet using virtual meeting rooms and using other communication tools.