What is the Purpose of the Project Sponsor / Project Director

What is the Purpose of the Project Sponsor / Project Director
By The Office of Government Commerce – OGC, UK

The Project Sponsor/Project Director provides the interface between project ownership and delivery – The Project Sponsor/Project Director is the client side representative who acts as a single focal point of contact with the project manager for the day-to-day management of the interests of the client organisation. The Project Sponsor is responsible for ongoing management on behalf of the project owner to ensure that the desired project objectives are delivered. The person in this role must have adequate knowledge and information about the business and the project to be able to make informed decisions. They may be known as the Project Sponsor; sometimes referred to as the Project Director.

For smaller/straightforward projects the roles of Project Sponsor/Project Director and Project Manager may be combined, subject to the proviso that the person taking on the combined responsibilities possesses the requisite competencies, expertise, experience and has the available time and resources. Where roles are combined, it is essential that delegations and responsibilities are clearly understood and do not overlap with other roles. This role description assumes that the roles of Project Sponsor/Project Director and Project Manager are separate.

Successful delivery toolkit, the Office of Government Commerce – © Crown Copyright 2008