How to use a project management approach to help run research projects

Academics face numerous pressures on their time even before managing the process of, for example, a five-year research project that needs to deliver real-world benefits.

Such a project at the University of Sheffield’s School of Law – titled Fortitude and funded by the European Research Council – aims to improve the “legal capability” of children in the UK. The project’s ultimate goal is to create gamified learning for children aged from three to 15 that will help them deal with legal issues they encounter in their everyday lives. For example, how does a child engage with a shop assistant who gives them incorrect change?

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It is crucial – and difficult – for an academic team to ensure that a project like this is managed effectively and delivers its objectives. Managing research involves responsibility for other academics who, while accustomed to working independently, may be less familiar with delivering the outputs a project needs – and within a specific deadline. Plus, there may be a requirement to translate theoretical materials into something meaningful in the “real world” – in our case, devising gamified learning that children will use.

Adopting a project management approach in an academic setting – such as the PRINCE2 method, originally devised by the UK government to improve public sector project success and now used worldwide – can address the challenges of running a multi-year research project and avoid overwhelming academic teams.

Project management: the right discipline for managing research projects

A project – according to the PRINCE2 project management method – is defined as ‘‘a temporary organisation that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to an agreed business case’’.

Having a method to manage this entity means you have a safe and robust framework to operate in. It also helps ensure creativity and effective communication between team members. This is important because, without it, people tend to work in isolation. With a project management structure – including regular team meetings where people discuss problems and identify solutions – a team collaborates and tasks become actions and outputs.

The value of using a best practice method

Best practice project management methods such as PRINCE2 are the result of experts combining knowledge, experience and proven techniques gained from running various projects around the world.

Therefore, by either hiring a qualified project manager to run an academic research project, or training a relevant team member in the method, your project will be run according to clear principles:

− Defined project roles and responsibilities, which means people have clarity and there is less risk of just muddling through.

− A focus on deliverables (products or outputs), which ensures that everyone knows what the project aims to deliver.

− A business case to ensure that the project remains viable during its lifetime.

− Assurance, troubleshooting and audits to keep things on track.

− Learning and continuous improvement to avoid repeating mistakes and enhance quality.

− The ability to work with both an “agile” delivery approach (an evolving way of working involving regular testing and feedback) and a traditional “waterfall” project approach (linear and based on a plan agreed up front). For example, while our overall project approach is waterfall, briefing gaming companies to develop digital games for children is better handled with agile. But in either case, project management provides structure and control.

The key elements in PRINCE2 that help the research management process

There are numerous ways of working outlined in PRINCE2 that can support the management of a research project. These include:

1. The project plan

Having a project plan from the outset helps identify what a long-term project will look like, but with flexibility, as things might change. It also means that everyone involved can see the key milestones throughout the project.

2. Business case

Developing and revisiting a business case ensures that the project either remains viable or otherwise closes. In our project, this involved completing the European Research Council Grant Agreement: a document that brings together all the information necessary to obtain funding for the research project. On an annual basis, we also need to provide financial and scientific reports that outline what’s been spent, what’s been achieved and what’s planned.

3. Project benefits

Identifying benefits acknowledges that a successful project should change something for the better. In a research management context, that could mean discovering something groundbreaking.

4. Specifying business requirements

Identifies what the project requires for success and helps when tendering for suppliers. In our case, we’re now going out to tender with gaming companies to produce digital or physical games for children based on our research. Therefore, we have produced a specification document for the requirements.

5. Identifying risks

Pinpointing risks means anticipating what could impede the project and allows a project manager to find ways of minimising the risks and keeping stakeholders informed. For our project, we have a risk log that captures factors such as teachers’ strikes, which might mean school participants are unavailable at a crucial point. This helps us to replan an activity and keep the project on schedule.

6. Engaging stakeholders

Knowing who the project stakeholders are, mapping them according to their importance and agreeing how to interact with them ensures that they remain engaged throughout. For us, that can include internal stakeholders, such as the head of department in the university and external stakeholders, such as schools, who can support the project – and knowing how often we need to engage with them.

7. Developing a communication plan

Having different methods and channels to communicate with stakeholders is vital to demonstrate the work you’re doing and to share results and learnings. For example, we’ve communicated research findings and successes of the project periodically when attending external conferences and academic events at the university.

8. Regular, formal reporting

Delivering regular reports to a research project’s funding body might cover the latest research findings and how you are managing the budget. Without such reports, your funding could be at risk.

9. Documenting lessons learned

This helps the project team to reflect on different activities and how they could be improved next time. Questioning and capturing what’s gone well, what hasn’t and what you would do differently is also important for future projects.

How a project management method improves project outcomes

A project’s purpose is to deliver something new that will benefit an organisation or department. In other words, provide a positive outcome. In our case, having a project management method in place has helped us to deliver:

− An ethics approach for the project that meets both the University of Sheffield’s and the European Research Council’s requirements.

− A child-centred framework to measure legal capability, developed through research with children from a number of our partner schools.

− A GDPR approach that meets the requirements of the university and ensures the security of all personal data.

− A project website, which we have used as our key channel of communication for both project participants and stakeholders.

Replicating the value of project management in your institution

By including a project manager at the bid stage of a research project, the academic team can get dedicated support for the development of a project plan, which could then accompany their funding bid. And by sharing lessons learned and experiences gained across an institution, this can become the basis for developing and embedding best practice project management within any future projects.

Jon Gunnell is project manager at the University of Sheffield School of Law, UK.

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Click here for more information about the PRINCE2 project management method.