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Project Management vocabulary · Stakeholders & Communication

Project sponsor

Meaning in project management, with examples

/ˌprɑːdʒekt ˈspɑːnsər/nounCore term

In project management, project sponsor means: A senior manager who owns the business reason for a project, secures its funding, makes the big decisions and supports the project manager when problems need higher authority.

In Turkish: proje sponsoru, proje destekçisi

How it is used

Every serious project should have one. The sponsor approves the business case, budget and major changes and often chairs the steering committee. People also just say “the sponsor”.

Example sentences

  1. The project sponsor agreed to move the launch to May if we can keep the full scope.

  2. Without an active project sponsor, decisions in this project take weeks.

Common collocations

  • executive sponsor
  • project sponsor approval
  • brief the sponsor
  • act as project sponsor
  • stakeholderAny person or group that is affected by a project or can influence it, such as the client, users, managers, suppliers or the project team itself.
  • steering committeeA group of senior managers and key stakeholders who give a project direction, make major decisions, approve big changes and help solve escalated problems.
  • business caseA document or argument that explains why a project is worth doing, comparing its expected benefits with its costs, risks and alternative options.
  • project managerThe person responsible for planning a project, organising the team and making sure the work is delivered on time, within budget and to the agreed scope.

More terms: Stakeholders & Communication

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