Project Management structure
The project management structure, in addition to the routine activities detailed in the following sections, also has to co-ordinate and ensure co-operation among the various partners involved throughout the life cycle of the Phase.
The project management structure will be responsible for:
producing the Project and Quality Plan;
controlling the execution of the project plan;
keeping the overall project on schedule, by applying the appropriate corrective actions in case of shift in relation to the project plan;
guaranteeing that the appropriate standards of project management and quality assurance are applied;
applying all the regulatory prescriptions in terms of data confidentiality and integrity;
discussing project objectives and results with the Steering Committee.
The need to keep an overall co-ordination while catering for autonomous work packages management and decentralised decision power implies a two-level management structure, which addresses the need for both consistency at project level and flexibility in the field. In this scheme, the upper level of management is responsible for the overall supervision of the project, while the lower level has the mandate to carry out the individual work packages and the activities in the countries.
The upper level of management is represented by the Project Steering Committee composed of senior representatives of the Partners, by the Project Co-ordinator and by the Technical Co-ordinator.
Project Steering Committee
The Steering Committee gives the strategic guidelines to the Technical Co-ordinator and steers the project according to the agreed objectives. The Steering Committee will be responsible for the approval of the financial budgets. Decisions on managerial and technical issues will be made following standard procedures of circulation of agenda items, discussion and agreement at meetings. Virtual meetings through video-conferencing, tele-conferencing and e-mail will be held to improve efficiency and reduce travelling costs.
The Steering Committee will also address legal, confidentiality, security and ethical issues emerging during the lifecycle of the project.
The Steering Committee will meet at the start and completion of the project as well as at three-monthly intervals during the project duration.
Detailed rules for the functioning of the Steering Committee will be laid down in a Consortium Agreement. It can be anticipated however that decisions will be taken by majority vote, and the quorum is a minimum of 2/3 of the Principal Contractors. In voting, each Contractor has one vote.
