WP6 – Project Management

The CAPANINA project requires efficient and effective project management. A project management infrastructure including project initiation, administration, organisation and technical management, has been set up.

Project management structure

The overall management structure is shown in the following figure.



The roles of the Project Coordinator (PC), Project Coordination Committee (PCC) and the Scientific Board (SB) are given below. WP refers to Workpackages and the ellipses below indicate sub-WPs.

Project Coordination Committee (PCC)

The PCC is the formal decision making body of the Consortium and hence only the PCC has the authority to make global decisions within the project.

The PCC is supported by an experienced co-ordinator who chairs the meetings. He has overall responsibility for the organisation, planning, and control of the project.

The PC is the contact person for the Commission in all contractual and operational aspects relating to the project.

The PCC consists of at least one delegate from each partner, as well as the PC.
The PCC meets regularly every four months. Additional meetings may be called by the project coordinator, or at the request of partners.

The PC chairs the PCC meetings. Each of the principal contractors communicates with the PCC via his own PCC delegate; associated partners and subcontractors are fully represented by their respective partners. The PCC makes decisions by voting where each partner has one vote, independent of the number of delegates present at the meeting.

The PCC’s primary role is:-

1. Definition, oversight and re-definition of workplan calendar and budget distribution revisions, if necessary.
2. Setting up a resource plan for the project and monitoring effort expended. Financial budget control is devolved to the partners.
3. Setting up efficient partnership communication channels and web-site.
4. Defining the delegation, reporting and monitoring methodology to ensure efficient execution of workpackages on time.
5. Applying the evaluation criteria to ensure quality of deliverables, meeting of deadlines, attendance at periodical meetings and usefulness of output for workshops.
6. Ensuring the top-level workpackage leaders provide reports/deliverables at the agreed times.
7. Drafting of reports to the Commission and ensuring they are delivered on time.

Scientific Board (SB)

The SB consists of the leaders of the Top-level Workpackages. It is chaired by the Principal Scientific Officer.

Its primary function is responsibility for long-term strategy and monitoring the realisation of the research objectives within the project deliverables.

The Board meets during the project workshops. The SB reports to the PCC.

The primary roles of the SB is:-

1. Supervision of the scientific content of the workpackages according to the objectives of the project.
2. Establishing the evaluation criteria by which the quality of the deliverables is monitored.
3. Through virtual meetings (where possible to minimise costs and to provide a fast response to requests) to assist with problems which may arise and to seek solutions and help from others as appropriate.
4. To monitor the bulletin reports on the web site for potential problems or opportunities and to take action accordingly.
5. To be responsible for the overall scientific content of all reports produced.

Top-level Workpackage Leaders

For each of the workpackages, a leader has been appointed.

Strategic decisions made within a workpackage should be approved by the PCC, in order to ascertain that they do not impact significantly on other areas of the programme.

They are responsible for all aspects of the workpackage, including meeting the goals set and preparing contributions to reports as deemed necessary.