For many people, project management means to plan, to implement and to monitor the work of a team. Indeed, these are important. But consider also the definition of objectives and KPIs assessment.
In science, project management is everywhere. Designing a simple experiment is already a project. In a broader scientific framework, the role of a project manager is to guide the scientific team to meaningful success. It includes respecting the constraints and objectives of the project.
When it comes to developing a project with many constraints and team members, some help may be needed. For instance, some projects require going after grants. It often implies to specifically manage allocated resources and to keep track of deadlines. In such a framework, labs may ask consultants or agencies to plan and/or monitor the project.
Project management services may cover two needs: planning and monitoring
Some agencies offer project planning. It includes the estimation of the budget, the scheduling, working times, project processes, partners, and so on. The service may include identifying the available grants to finance the project.
Together with planning, the project management agencies can offer to conduct the project. They can take care of the administrative reports including some of the accounting tasks. All along the project, the manager monitors the advancement of the project. If necessary, he/she takes decisions to avoid delay or failure of the project. Achieving the objectives must be his/her constant concern.
In the case of projects funded by grants, scientists often hire agencies or consultants for project management. It is especially true for projects funded under the European Horizon 2020 framework programme (H2020). Some agencies are even specialized in writing grants for European calls of projects.
Consider a various model of payment before hiring a project manager
An agency offering project management services can be rewarded in several ways. There are no billing standards amongst agencies.
If you wish to ask for a project planning service alone, the bill will probably be based on standard consultancy services. It can be either calculated on a working-hour basis or on a flat rate.
For a grant submission, some agencies align their fees with the success and received a grant. Concretely, agencies experts in H2020 submissions may take a percentage of your grant if you win the bid.
Some agencies may want to join a project as a partner. For example, in an H2020 project, the agency will be part of the consortium. It will be assigned with the task of the project management. Then, it gets its fees from its share of the granted project budget. To know more, read this article on the rules of partnerships under the H2020 programme.
It often takes time to find the agency which corresponds to your needs. Here you can find a selection of project management services which can be useful for you.
