The Project Sponsor - a critical success factor

All pioneering work needs extraordinary sponsorship from a powerful, motivating, visionary and experienced sponsor, in order for a project to be successful. The project sponsor is known as a critical success factor of projects in the project management literature. It would be of great value for project management success, culture and professionalism, to draw the attention of the sponsor and others to this critical role and its specific responsibilities. The role needs to be established, not accidental. Part of project management is to anchor the project to a sponsor, someone with exceptional communication skills and the ability to overcome whatever obstacles might impede the success of the project. The research presented in this paper reveals the perspective of the sponsor himself on the role and on success. The findings show that importance and effect of strong sponsorship needs greater emphasis.