- 1. 24 PM NETWORK july 2011 WWW.PMI.ORG
2. Savingthe Worldby Sarah Fister Gale * illustration by ian
whadcockWith Project ManagementNot-for-profits can do goodfor the
world and their ownROIby increasingtransparency and accountability.
july 2011 PM NETWORK 25 3. ot-for-profit organizations severely
limit their ability to thrive,are often created by a group says Kim
Sutton, director of FSI (Theof passionate people devoted Foundation
for Social Improvement), a to a good cause. And whileLondon,
England-based not-for-profitthey may have the ambition group that
helps small U.K. charities to help those in need, they expand their
fundraising skills. Theyoften lack the business knowl- want to
accomplish something, but edge necessary to transform pas-they
often lack the business structuresion into a successful portfolio
they need to accomplish their goals. of projects that make the most
of FSI offers consulting and trainingfrequently limited
funds.courses, including a program on project While the
not-for-profit sector management. Project management fits may seem
far removed from the our vision of helping these organiza-corporate
realm, project managerstions become more efficient, she says. can
learn a lot from their for-profit In the course, instructors teach
not-counterparts.for-profit groups how to create a project Running
a not-for-profit is not that plan, set goals, and create a budget
anddifferent than the for-profit world,schedule.says Paul R.
Williams, PMP, executiveEven a simple project plan can helpdirector
of the American Institute for smaller teams stay focused on what
theyInnovation Excellence, a not-for-profitare trying to accomplish
and enableorganization dedicated to developing them to do more in
less time, Ms. Sut-and sharing best practices in innova-ton says.
And it deters the haphazardtion management based in De
Pere,approach that some small organizationsWisconsin, USA. You need
short-,have of doing a little of this and a littlemedium- and
long-term goals, he says. of that.You need to manage resources
andProject management techniques alsomeasure results. Project
management is allow organizations to assess the impacta part of all
of that.of their efforts. When Ms. Sutton begins working with a
charity, her firstOne Size Fits Allstep is to review a recent
fundraisingMany smaller organizations see project project and score
it based on its ROI.management as too complex for what There can be
a lot of burst bubblesthey are trying to accomplishbutat the end of
that conversation, shetheyre missing the big picture. admits,
noting that after the cost of Project management is what you the
event is subtracted from total gains,make of it, Mr. Williams says.
You many of these projects return far lesstake the pieces that work
for you andthan the group expected.scale it up or down to meet your
needs. They think that because it gave Not-for-profit organizations
that them exposure it was worth the effort,dont use formal
methodologies for but thats not the only objective,planning
projects or measuring ROI she says. As a not-for-profit, youveA
good resource-tracking systemgives you a story to tell. Thats
howyou secure continuing support.Tue Nguyen, PhD, Institute for
OneWorld Health, South San Francisco, California, USA26 PM NETWORK
july 2011 WWW.PMI.ORG 4. >>In for the Long HaulProject
management strategies enable not- have the necessary skills and
resources.for-profit teams to proactively address keyPlaneterra is
planning to hire and trainissues and plan for long-term sustainable
new local project managers in Thailand,growth. Peru and Costa Rica,
working with the GapPlaneterra, a not-for-profit
sustainableAdventures global team, a sustainability-tourism
organization, recently completedminded travel company that
established thean in-depth strategic planning session to
not-for-profit.support a broader goal to move away from Many of the
people in these communi-individual one-off projects that are
notties have never written a grant or manageddeveloped with the
larger goals and needs a business, Ms. Wood says. Rather thanof the
regions in mind. demand that they meet sophisticated crite-The
focus now is helping empower ria, our project managers will assist
themlocal people to develop their communities,for the first year to
be sure they can achieveconserve cultures, and create a humanetheir
goals.and supportive system for their endeav-The transformation is
still being rolledors based on a steady cycle of giving and out,
though the strategic planning processinvestment, says Megan Epler
Wood, the alone has been tremendously valuable toToronto, Ontario,
Canada-based organiza-the team, Ms. Wood attests.tions executive
director. It helped us take a step back and seeMs. Wood and her
team seek out sus- where we want to go and how to proceed,tainable
business opportunities that delivershe says. That perspective
allowed usongoing economic and social value, such asto set
objective goals based on what wea project to launch a community
center in believe is possible.Siem Reap, Cambodia that provides
voca-For the first time, Ms. Wood says, rathertional training in
cooking and hospitality to than reacting to events and needs,
theyoung people in the surrounding area, orfoundation can be
proactive. Along withan initiative to create a womens weaving
targeting long-term sustainable projects,co-op in the village of
Ccaccaccollo, Peru. Planeterra plans to build up an ongoingOur
first step was developing the stra-fund for disaster relief.tegic
plan, Ms. Wood says. That includedReacting to crises after they
occur iscreating a new process for assessing thedebilitating
timewise, she notes. Having asustainability potential of
initiatives, andsustainable fund means the resources
willdetermining whether the project leaders be there as they are
needed.got a responsibility to your trustees toQuantifiable
measures prove projectdeliver the best ROI with the resources
success.youve got. By building a plan that clearly
definesOversight:the goals of the project, organizations The Best
Medicinecan measure if they have achieved their One of the biggest
challenges for not-objectives. Whether they are attempt-
for-profits is securing funding. Projecting to sign up 100
volunteers or donate management processes are especially1,000 worth
of food to the needy,useful in communicating with donorsthese
metrics make it much easier towho want to see where their money
isdetermine what theyve accomplished going.and to communicate those
achievementsIf you can show that you haveto their benefactors, Ms.
Sutton says.a disciplined approach to executing july 2011 PM
NETWORK 27 5. projects in the field, donors will know port, notes
Tue Nguyen, PhD, vicethat their money is not being wasted,president
of research and pre-clinicalMr. Williams says. Show them a
roaddevelopment and leader of the diar-map and a timeline, and it
will giverheal diseases program at the Institutethem the confidence
to invest in you.for OneWorld Health. The South San Having a
project management pro- Francisco, California, USA-based not-cess
that tracks where funds come fromfor-profit pharmaceutical
organizationand how they are being used to sup- develops new
medicines for childrenport your goals also ensures the trustin
developing countries with infectiousof funders and their continued
sup- diseases. One of the best ways to secure fund-ing is to show
off successes. A goodresource-tracking system gives you astory to
tell, he says. Thats how yousecure continuing support. Project
management methodologyhelps organizations make better use oflimited
resources, and it allows themto funnel new funds toward their
mostsuccessful projects, notes Amy Steets,program manager at
Vitamin Angels, aSanta Barbara, California, USA-basednot-for-profit
that works to reducechild mortality worldwide by providingessential
nutrients to the needy. Project management is extremelyimportant to
us, she says. You cantrun an effective project without man-aging it
and measuring whether youaccomplished what you set out
toaccomplish. One of the most critical tasks in herprojects is
vetting the local not-for-profit organizations that will
distributethe vitamins. The groups submit grantproposals to Vitamin
Angels, defininga specific target population, how theywill reach it
and the number of children >>A Helping Hand they expect to
help. The groups that are selected must The PMI Educational
Foundation helps report progress annually, including the bring the
benefits and the power of proj-number of doses given and how
thosenumbers compare to original goals. ect management to local
communities If the local groups struggle to meet and to the
farthest reaches of the world their targets, Ms. Steets connects
them for social good. The foundation assistswith more successful
organizations orshares marketing ideas, such as reach-
not-for-profit organizations by offering ing out to younger sibling
populations training, tools and methodologies, and through schools
and partnering withother community services providers. project
management maturity resources.We understand that its hard to Find
out more at PMI.org/PMIEF.manage these projects at the field
level,28 PM NETWORK july 2011 WWW.PMI.ORG 6. so we try to assist
them as much as wecan, she says.ProjectManaging projects from
afar,though, poses problems.managementThe biggest weakness a lot of
not-for-profit organizations face is how tois extremelyensure whats
supposed to happen inthe field is really happening, Ms.
Steetsimportant to us.says.To improve oversight in more remote You
cant run anareas, her organization is in the processof building a
more robust monitor-effective projectwithout managinging and
evaluation component into itsprogram.Developing this capacity can
beexpensive, but that added accountabil-it and measuringity brings
value to the project and theThe group recently finished
phaseorganization, Ms. Steets says. one of the project, working
with 18whether youPart of our project managementcompanies and
approximately 1,500process is determining whether we arevehicles.
Its final benchmark measureaccomplished whatusing the resources
given to us to their showed the companies averaged a 12utmost
potential, she explains.It also enables corporate sponsors percent
drop in fuel use and an 8 per- cent fuel efficiency gain. Thats a
sav-you set out toto see the value of their donation andbroadcast
those achievements to their ings of 65,000 liters (17,171 gallons)
of gas, according to Dr. Pearse, who is alsoaccomplish.own
stakeholders, says Merrin Pearse,the owner of Coordinate4u, a
sustain-Amy Steets, Vitamin Angels, Santa Barbara,PhD, senior
environmental officer at ability consultancy in Hong
Kong.California, USAFriends of the Earth (HK), a not-for-Our
ultimate goal is to changeprofit environmental organization in the
mindset of both individuals andHong Kong. corporate leaders towards
a sustainable environment, he says. By measuringMeasuring
Successthe impact on fuel use and efficiency,That transparency and
accountability Friends of the Earth can directly cor-are vital
components of Friends of the relate the benefits of its training to
posi-Earths recent project in which team tive environmental and
financial results.members worked with local businesses Those
numbers also create a greatto reduce the carbon impact of their
selling point that Friends of the Earthvehicle fleets.and its
corporate sponsor for the proj- At each company, the team
bench-ect, Standard Chartered Bank, can sharemarks the fuel use of
the existing fleet with constituents.over one month and then holds
aMetrics help demonstrate that proj-workshop for all drivers and
relevantects correspond to organizational goals.personnel on how to
reduce fuel use. The bank wants to be aligned withDrivers are
trained to not accelerate or projects that show it is taking
environ-break heavily, not to idle, to park in the mental
initiative and creating financialshade and to take more direct
routes.savings, and Friends of the Earth wantsAll organizational
staff are also asked to to encourage change, Dr. Pearse
says.consider whether they can take publicBy measuring the impact
of theirtransportation instead of using com- projects,
not-for-profit organizationspany vehicles, and after the seminar
iscan prove results and show how farcomplete, team members measure
fueleven a little project managementuse over the ensuing
month.training can go. PM july 2011 PM NETWORK 29
