Variations of the project sponsor role and benefits realisation: A phenomenographic study

Abstract

The Project Sponsor role and Benefits Realisation have become a focus for organisations and project management practitioners as the need to understand factors that are potentially impacting on the success or failure of projects is gaining momentum. The question of who or what is responsible for the successful delivery and realisation of benefits of publicly funded high profile projects in the NHS has given rise to research that addresses specific aspects of key roles in the project management environment. Addressing a gap in the research this study focusses on the senior role with responsibility for the sponsorship of projects and explores how this role is experienced and understood by those undertaking it, and what is understood of benefit realisation. The Project Sponsor role has only in recent years received any focus in the research but this focus has failed to address questions of how the role is experienced and what is understood by the senior managers who undertake the role, and, what if anything do they understand of benefits realisation. Nine qualitative semi-structured interviews with Project Sponsors from an acute specialised NHS hospital trust were conducted, transcribed and analysed and this research presents the qualitatively different ways in which the Project Sponsor role is experienced, giving an insight into the understanding of the individuals who are undertaking the role, to better comprehend how that role can contribute to Benefit Realisation and achieve successful outcomes for projects. This phenomenographic study presents three conceptions of the Project Sponsor role and of realising benefits across seven themes of awareness, and suggests that the role of Project Sponsor is experienced in different and inclusively hierarchical ways. This thesis contributes to knowledge on the role of the Project Sponsor, particularly in relation to benefits from projects.