Project Sponsor

A Project Sponsor in Business Design is an entrepreneurially minded leader who acts as the "internal customer" for any project team. They are one of the most critical people for the success of any innovation endeavour. Never start a project without a Project Sponsor!

Bernhard Doll

Business Design Maverick

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A Project Sponsor is a leader in an organisation with a business problem to solve and defined goals to reach. They provide guidance and support so that project teams can deliver what is needed. A Project Sponsor has real power and resources – and is a true believer in Business Design as a methodology. They are neither part of the Project Team nor a Team Coach who supports the team on a daily basis. Their role is to:

Define the goal and context of any innovation project across all phases
Support project teams with guidance, resources and psychological safety
Decide how to proceed with project results

Without a Project Sponsor, a project team can never succeed in a larger organisation. Teams would work in a vacuum – disconnected from the organisation, with no support during the project and especially afterwards. Results need to be evaluated, connected to other organisational activities and taken to the next meaningful phase of the Business Design process. A Project Sponsor is the driving force for all of this. A good Project Sponsor has several touchpoints with project teams during active project phases. They should be directly accessible to both Team Coaches and Team Members when urgent questions or quick decisions arise. They are not necessarily the one who provides all the budget – they act more as an internal customer for the project.

As Project Sponsor, you are responsible for setting up projects and project teams across the various phases of the end-to-end innovation process – and for making sure results reach the next meaningful phase. This usually includes:

Defining the setup and focus of a project (Project Charter)
Supporting the team setup by selecting the right people and making sure they have enough time and freedom to think openly.
Motivating all team members at the start of a project and giving them a clear sense of why they are part of it.
Providing guidance when a project team struggles or needs to make quick decisions on how to proceed.
Deciding what happens next after a project.

The following table shows some example key activities for a Project Sponsor within phase IV of the end-to-end innovation process:

Step	Activities	Comments
Setup	Promoting the approach of Business Design Defining and finalising the Project Charter with Project Manager and Team Coach Supporting team building by suggesting the right experts and making sure they get the resources they need Taking part in a Business Design training for Project Sponsors	Be very rigorous in the Setup Phase: Starting with unclear objectives, a 50% committed sponsor and a team without enough time, resources and the right skills, is NOT a good idea! Double-check the Project Charter!
Discover	Presenting the Project Charter in a Kick-off Workshop and making sense of the entire project setup: "Why is this project one of the best places to be right now in this company?"
Design	Joining the first Sponsor's Sneak Preview and giving feedback to the project team Making quick decisions and asking questions of the project team if necessary
Validate	Optional: Joining regular Sponsor's Sneak Preview (every 2-3 weeks) and giving feedback to the project team Optional: Supporting Validate activities by getting the right people on board that are needed to execute experiments (e.g. sales, legal, customer support)
Decide	Joining the Decide Workshop / D - Day with the Project Team and the Team Coach Providing feedback and making decisions on how to proceed	Decisions should be made right on the spot. Any delays or inclusion of more people in the decision-making process will increase the likelihood that we end up with no decisions!