Executive sponsor
Encyclopedia
The role of Executive sponsor (sometimes called Project sponsor or Senior Responsible Owner) is a role in project management
, usually the senior member of the project board and often the chair. The project sponsor will be a senior executive in a corporation (often at or just below board level) who is responsible to the business for the success of the project
.
The sponsor has a number of interfaces and responsibilities for the project.
The responsibilities for which the sponsor is accountable to the board are;
Provides leadership on culture and values
Owns the business case
Keeps project aligned with organisation's strategy and portfolio direction
Governs project risk
Works with other sponsors
Focuses on realisation of benefits
Recommends opportunities to optimise cost/benefits
Ensures continuity of sponsorship
Provides assurance
Provides feedback and lessons learnt
The governance activities that take place between the sponsor and the project manager are;
Provides timely decisions
Clarifies decision making framework
Clarifies business priorities and strategy
Communicates business issues
Provides resources
Engenders trust
Manages relationships
Supports the project managers role
Promotes ethical working
In addition to these activities the following activities take place between the sponsor and other stakeholders;
Engages stakeholders
Governs stakeholder communications
Directs client relationships
Directs governance of users
Directs governance of suppliers
Arbitrates between stakeholders
Due to the problem solving needs of the role the executive sponsor often needs to be able to exert pressure within the organisation to overcome resistance to the project. For this reason a successful executive sponsor will ideally be a person with five personal attributes - understanding, competence, credibility, commitment and engagement.
A few research studies have been published that not only detail the role of this individual within project management but also provide a way to ensure that the success of a project is greater increased if this individual plays a more active role.
Project management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
, usually the senior member of the project board and often the chair. The project sponsor will be a senior executive in a corporation (often at or just below board level) who is responsible to the business for the success of the project
Project
A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...
.
The sponsor has a number of interfaces and responsibilities for the project.
The responsibilities for which the sponsor is accountable to the board are;
Provides leadership on culture and values
Owns the business case
Keeps project aligned with organisation's strategy and portfolio direction
Governs project risk
Works with other sponsors
Focuses on realisation of benefits
Recommends opportunities to optimise cost/benefits
Ensures continuity of sponsorship
Provides assurance
Provides feedback and lessons learnt
The governance activities that take place between the sponsor and the project manager are;
Provides timely decisions
Clarifies decision making framework
Clarifies business priorities and strategy
Communicates business issues
Provides resources
Engenders trust
Manages relationships
Supports the project managers role
Promotes ethical working
In addition to these activities the following activities take place between the sponsor and other stakeholders;
Engages stakeholders
Governs stakeholder communications
Directs client relationships
Directs governance of users
Directs governance of suppliers
Arbitrates between stakeholders
Due to the problem solving needs of the role the executive sponsor often needs to be able to exert pressure within the organisation to overcome resistance to the project. For this reason a successful executive sponsor will ideally be a person with five personal attributes - understanding, competence, credibility, commitment and engagement.
A few research studies have been published that not only detail the role of this individual within project management but also provide a way to ensure that the success of a project is greater increased if this individual plays a more active role.