Restoration Project Management - Project Planning and Management for Ecological Restoration - page 14

The project team is composed of internal (volunteers, consultants, and contractors), external
(individuals or organizations that will benefit from the project, such as sponsors and adjacent
landowners), and other stakeholders (organizations that can facilitate or hinder the project deliv-
ery, such as special interest groups or governmental regulatory agencies representing the public
interest in environmental protection). Naming or grouping stakeholders is primarily an aid to help
identify which individuals and organizations can aid or hinder your satisfactory completion of a
project. Implementing procedures for stakeholder input early during the project planning process
can promote stakeholder “buy-in” to project goals and objectives and reduce or eliminate many
problems that might otherwise occur later because of confusion over the reasoning behind deci-
sions affecting project plans and construction.
External stakeholders are the individuals or organizations that will benefit from the improve-
ments created by the project or will in some way be directly affected by the project. This group
includes the person(s) or organization(s) sponsoring the project; the public, most often represent-
ed by individuals or organizations; nearby community members and adjacent landowners; and
organizations or individuals providing finances or advocating the project.
Internal stakeholders are individual volunteers or organizations paid by the project sponsor that
will use the deliverables, information, or enhancements produced. Such stakeholders include the
project sponsor and the project team, the latter including consultants, contractors, and volunteers.
Other stakeholders are individuals or organizations that can facilitate or hinder the delivery
of a project. Included in this group are affected special interest groups, regulatory agencies, and
other governmental agencies, including governmental agencies that represent the public interest
in environmental protection and natural resource conservation.
People: Project Team
The project manager works with, and through, the project team members to ensure that they
deliver the project that is expected by the project sponsor and that meets the project goals and
objectives.
For smaller, simpler projects, the project manager is also one of the major workers who execute
a significant amount of the project products; however, in some cases, specialists may be brought
into the process as needed. Most large and complex projects have multidisciplinary restoration
project teams, typically composed of the project manager, functional specialists (e.g., biologists,
landscape architects, ecologists, engineers, hydrologists, botanists, geologists, and soil scientists),
and various consultants, contractors, and volunteers who perform project-related activities. Some
project teams also include key stakeholder representatives. This is especially true when the stake-
holders wield significant decision-making influence.
Depending on the complexity of the project, a four-member core project team—consisting
of a project manager, a biologist/ecologist, a landscape architect, and a civil engineer—may be
organized and tasked with completing all of the planning and design activities. Larger or more
complex projects, or projects involving higher risk activities, usually call for a larger, more diverse
team composition and a more closely coordinated project management effort.