This event will be attended by 12 Local development officers working in the Iomairt areas as well as 8 community co-ordinators employed within Eilan Siar.

The training days importance is crucial to the developing links with Community Planning across the 5 Local Authority Areas.

Iomairt aig an Oir – Initiative at the Edge
Project Development and Planning
1 Day Workshop: Tuesday 11th September 2007

Deliverer: Prof Den K Wilson

Aims
The workshop is intended for Local Development Officers whose role is to promote and provide support for a range of local development projects. The workshop is designed to provide participants with an opportunity to:

• Focus on the vital role of project development and planning;
• Explore the value of adopting and adapting an appropriate project management framework and set of techniques.

The overall aim is to help participants to develop their confidence, ability and performance in the project development aspects of their role.

Structure & Content
The workshop is informed by the Prince2 framework and will cover the following topics. Within each topic the key objectives, techniques and appropriate resources required for success will be identified and considered.

 Project Fundamentals. Characteristics of projects. Programmes and projects. The project Life Cycle and typical stages. The Prince2 framework. Projects and change management.

 Getting the Project Under Way. The project mandate and brief. Initiation. Project appraisal and the business case. Quality criteria and SLAs. Stakeholders, partners and networking. Option generation. Feasibility and risk. Project planning techniques. Organising and setting up the project. Stage planning and the Gateway approach. Exit strategy. Documenting the project.

 Managing the Project. Getting the work done. Monitoring and evaluation. Reporting. Dealing with problems. Using tolerances. Managing change. Stage management. Capturing lessons. Monitoring risks. Managing stakeholders, partners and the team.

 Closing the Project. Delivering final products. Gaining acceptance and handover. End of project evaluation. Post project evaluation. Collection and dissemination of Lessons learnt. Dispersing the team.

Pre-workshop Activity
Participants are invited to identify a project on which they have worked, or are likely to work, and which can provide a basis for reflection and discussion during the workshop.