Managing Projects with Change Management Techniques In Mind

Why Every Research Manager Needs Change Management

I’ve dedicated most of my career to research project management. Over the years, I’ve been involved in more than 30 projects, wearing almost every hat imaginable: Financial Manager, Beneficiary/Research Partner, Dissemination & Exploitation Manager, and Administrative Coordinator. Naturally, I've also navigated all combinations of those roles at once.

Today, I divide my professional life into two distinct eras: “Before Change Management (CM)” and “After Change Management.” Practicing CM has been a game-changer. It has given me a crystal-clear view of my place and role within the project delivery ecosystem. While decades of experience certainly help, actively applying CM methodologies has undeniably sharpened my skills, boosted my productivity, and drastically improved the results of my work.

As Research Managers & Administrators (RMAs), we know our involvement varies. Sometimes our status is “occasional” (stepping in just for periodic reporting), and sometimes it is “extensive” (handling daily project monitoring and consortium wrangling). Because of this, the volume of CM applied must scale accordingly. There is no “one size fits all.”

(A quick note: When I talk about Change Management, I am referring to the specific methodology defined and taught by Prosci, a leading CM company headquartered in Colorado, USA. Whenever I use their materials, I include their copyright notice.)

Is a Project Really a “Change”?

Spoiler alert: Yes, it is. Otherwise, this blog post would be very short! 😉

To understand why, let's look at the definition. Change Management focuses on the people’s side of a change. But what are the other sides?

Figure 1

Any successful initiative requires three elements: Process, Technology, and People. Think of it as a three-legged stool, as shown in Figure 1. If you remove one leg, the whole thing topples over. Your project is only as stable as that stool.

• The Process: The project’s plan, goals, and objectives.

• The Technology: The equipment, software, and tools used to execute the work.

• The People: The researchers and managers doing the actual work. (We don't have robots managing EU projects... yet).

A project is a journey from a known start date to a defined finish date. It is the transition from a current state to a future state. Therefore, a project is a change.

The Bumpy Road to Success (The Change Curve)

Let's look at a concrete example that proves we all do CM, whether we realize it or not.

During a collaborative project’s lifecycle, things rarely go perfectly smoothly. Difficulties arise—often at the beginning, but they can trigger at any point during execution.

Figure 2

Figure 2 illustrates how a person or team copes when a change begins to impact them. In the Green Zone, everything is fine. But when difficulties hit, productivity drops into the Orange or Red Zones.

The deeper the curve goes, the more negative the impact. It is completely natural to expect a dip in productivity at the start of a project; we are all human, and getting a consortium aligned takes time. Sometimes, it just takes focused attention to guide the team back to normal productivity.

The RMA Nightmare: Multiple Teams and Defaulting Partners

When you have several teams or partners involved, the situation becomes exponentially more complex.

Figure 3

As seen in Figure 3, the more teams in a project, the higher the odds of facing a severe disruption. Different partners react differently to the change.

• Some partners experience only a marginal effect (Team A or Team C).

• Others face a severe drop in productivity (Team B or Team D).

Notice that while Team B eventually recovers, Team D keeps dropping. Notice the terminology in the Red Zone: "opt out from the change." In our project jargon, Team D is a Defaulting Partner. If they opt out of the project entirely, it has serious, sometimes irreversible, implications for the whole consortium.

Monitoring this change curve acts as an external dashboard for your project. By identifying which partners are slipping into the Red Zone early, you can intervene, minimize the damage, and keep the project on track.

Level Up Your CM Skills

This post is just a quick taste of the concepts we cover in our full-featured Change Management workshop. If you are interested in hosting this workshop at your site or setting up an online session for your team, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Managing Projects with Change Management Techniques In Mind

Managing Projects with Change Management Techniques In Mind