Webinar - What can Project Management do to optimize the use of Next Gen funds?

Madrid Network organized together with its associated company Leapman, the webinar "What can Project Management do for the proper use of European funds?"

Gema Sanz, Director of Business Development at Madrid Network, coordinates the event whose speaker was Pedro Balsa Managing Partner of Leapman.

The speaker developed 3 fundamental points:

1. Define the challenge we face in managing recovery funds in a way that enables the transformations that the country or our organization requires. The challenge is even greater when developing in an uncertain environment and having to be executed in a very short time frame 2021-2023. A high point of the intervention was the introduction of the single window collecting all the information available about the aid of the transformation plan, available only 24 hours before on the MITECO portal.


2. That Project Management methodologies can contribute to the process of selecting the optimal projects, technically called portfolio management. Initiatives whose execution contributes significantly to structural reforms each company needs. The results of recent international studies on the matter are presented. 20% of the projects that are executed globally are pure waste without any contribution of value. Projects aligned with the organization's strategy have a 57% greater chance of achieving their objectives and goals.


3. That Project Management methodologies can contribute to the execution of approved projects, achieving completion on time, budget and providing the expected value. It should not be forgotten that according to the European Court of Auditors between 2014 and 2020 Spain has only spent 39% of the aid it receives. In this area some “tips” were provided on how to manage time in projects. One of the key aspects that was emphasized was the use of collaborative planning involving stakeholders from minute one of the project.

The contribution of PMOs (Project Management Offices) to the success of these two challenges is fundamental, being applicable not only to large companies but also to SMEs. In the second case, a very interesting strategy is to use a part-time dedicated external consulting company.