This document summarizes a webinar on enhancing the sponsor role in project management. It introduces several panelists with experience sponsoring major infrastructure projects. They discuss clarifying sponsor roles and responsibilities within organizations, getting feedback from sponsors to improve governance processes, and how boards can best hold sponsors accountable. The webinar series aims to enhance the sponsor role and competencies. Recordings and publications on sponsorship from the APM are available to members.

1. Enhancing Sponsorship within the project
profession – webinar series
APM Governance SIG
23 July 2020

2. Webinar 2 – The Executive Sponsor role
Panel debate with senior leaders webinar

3. Introductions
Role
Interest in topic
Vision for role of sponsor in project profession

4. Introductions
3pmxl Ltd
Martin Samphire
Owner and MD –
Fellow APM
APM Governance SIG Chair
Lead on Portfolio Management for P3M Data Club (BIG)
Sectors – Central Civil Government, Health, Police, Defence, Rail, Energy,
Financial Services, Construction, Oil & Gas, Outsourcing, Water
msamphire@3pmxl.com

5. Introductions
Tim Carroll
Group Head of Project Management (retired)
Standard Chartered Bank
Responsible for improving the delivery performance of
change projects through better project management
processes and training

6. Introductions
Nick Gray
Programme Director
Network Rail
Spent his career working on complex major
infrastructure programmes in the UK sponsoring and
delivering enhancements at all stages of the lifecycle

7. Introductions
Peter Horsted
Group Compliance & Sustainability Portfolio Manager
Royal Mail
Extensive experience in the delivery of major change and
played a key role the delivery of the award winning Royal
Mail Transformation

8. Introductions
Andy Jinks
Development and sponsorship director
Highways England
Accountable for sponsoring major capital programmes
of work as well as playing a key role in developing the
sponsorship profession

9. Introductions
Sarah Johnson
Chief Executive Officer
Restoration and Renewal Sponsor Body
Accountable for the R&R Programme, overseeing a
delivery authority and managing the relationship with
both Houses of Parliament

10. Discussion Points
Role clarity in organisation
Governance of change maturity
Holding sponsors to account
Support for sponsors

11. Role clarity in organisation
▪ Use of prefixes will distinguish
between different authority levels
within sponsorship
▪ Does this distinction exist in your
experience / organisation and does
it go far enough?
▪ What conflicts have you
experienced?

12. Governance of change maturity
▪ Board directors were more positive
than sponsors
▪ Board should engage sponsors for
feedback on governance processes
to identify and implement
improvements
▪ What feedback would you provide
to the board to improve
governance processes from a
sponsor viewpoint?
Senior leaders see
the wider picture
Working level often
feel they are able to
see better ways of
doing things

13. Holding sponsors to account
▪ Board directors more positive of
their ability to hold executive
sponsors to account
▪ Board should agree with their
sponsors clear expectations for
both performance that is linked to
project outcomes and competency.
▪ What approaches work best for
you to be held to account for the
outcomes of change?
Directing Change
outlines principles of
effective governance for
board and sponsors
Also includes role-based
checklists

14. Support for sponsors
▪ A competency framework was agreed to most enhance the role
of sponsor within the project profession. We will cover this in
detail in our final webinar in the series.
▪ What other support is essential for sponsors to fully enact
their role and who is best placed to provide it?
▪ Our survey showed senior executives lack interest in learning
about sponsorship from the APM. Why do you think this is?

15. Wrap up
Further engagement

16. Webinar series
Sponsorship in the project profession
Slides and recording
now available
▪ Sponsorship: how to enhance the role within
the project profession
Thursday 30 July
17:00 to 18:00
▪ The Delegated Sponsor role – panel debate
with senior practitioners
Early autumn,
to be confirmed
▪ Sponsorship: competency, training and
accreditation

17. Directing Change
3rd Edition - 2018
Governance of
Co-owned Projects
- 2017
Sponsoring Change
2nd Edition - 2018
Free to APM members at www.apm.org.uk/memberdownloads
Gov SIG Publications
Directing Agile
Change - 2016
APM Learning module –
Working with project sponsors
Free to APM members at Associate
level and above at
www.apm.org.uk/apm-learning

18. Related blogs and webinars
▪ Sponsorship: how to enhance the role within the project profession
▪ Who makes the ideal sponsor and does it matter?
▪ The sponsor role and sponsorship - the way forward webinar
▪ Sponsoring the Thameslink Programme
▪ Who and what is a sponsor in project management?
▪ Effective sponsorship is key to success

19. Thank you!