Since 1990, the EU has funded more than 118,000 research projects for total of 324.7 billion Euros. Over 61,699 unique participants have benefited from this funding. Available data show that 35,417 grants were signed solely as part of the Horizon 2020 programme. This means that projects are a substantial form of work for the EU and that for most EU research organisations project management is part of their daily work.
PM² has been built on operational experience from projects run within the European Institutions, combined with elements from a wide range of globally accepted project management best practices, standards, and methodologies such as the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide, Projects in Controlled Environments (PRINCE2®), and the International Project Management Association´s Individual Competence Baseline (PMA ICB®). And, it has been built to fit the specific needs, culture and constraints of EU Institutions and programmes.
While the PM² Methodology has been developed by the EU to fit a wide array of project types, with some adjustments it is highly suitable (and recommended by the EC) for efficiently managing EU research projects. Several good governance practices are already built into the Grant Agreement procedures and documentation of the EC and PM² governance elements may be used to complement them. Similarly, streamlining project lifecycle with distinct project phases and processes is a good practice that PM² provides guidance on.
There are many advantages to the incorporation of PM² as project management practice:
Even if the PM² methodology may seem business-project oriented, it is important for other organisations to understand how different parts translate and may be applied to their own projects.
The tailoring and adoption of PM² brings benefits and alignment to organizations working together with different work methods and approaches from different countries, organisations, and cultural backgrounds. This enables streamline the project implementation process and bring the international team on the same page. It is also important to understand that PM² methodology should be adjusted to the project, either by scaling it up or down depending on the content and scale of the project. The control each project needs is also dependant on the content, partnership, and scale of the project; thus, the level of control should be adjusted wile bearing in mind the extra effort increased control requires. However, when adapting PM² methodology, the overall approach and mindset of the methodology should stay the same, meaning not using only some parts of the methodology, as the different pillars and levels complement each other. Well managed project ensures that the project activities and deliverables are executed well and of high quality. For more details on tailoring see Appendix C.