Navigating Major Programmes

Stewards of the Public Good: Defining Project Sponsorship with Andrew Antinucci and Carol Deveney

Episode Summary

What is the role of the sponsor in planning and delivering major projects? When it comes to public transit infrastructure, on time and on budget is only part of the story. In this episode of Navigating Major Programs, Andrew Antinucci and Carol Deveney—seasoned sponsorship and governance experts at CPCS—join Riccardo in a layered and comprehensive conversation exploring what it really means to ensure not just completion but the benefits of every major programme. The three self-professed transit geeks unpack this evolving role in Canada. The sponsor is critical, but often misunderstood, responsible not just for justifying cost and schedule, but for identifying and defending monetizing and non-monetizing benefits throughout a project’s lifecycle—for the communities the build will employ, serve, and exist within. From the business case to resisting scope adjustments to navigating multi-layer funding in a changing political climate, project sponsors are quietly shaping the success of the country’s most ambitious projects.

Episode Notes

What is the role of the sponsor in planning and delivering major projects? When it comes to public transit infrastructure, on time and on budget is only part of the story. In this episode of Navigating Major Programs, Andrew Antinucci and Carol Deveney—seasoned sponsorship and governance experts at CPCS—join Riccardo in a layered and comprehensive conversation exploring what it really means to ensure not just completion but the benefits of every major programme.

The three self-professed transit geeks unpack this evolving role in Canada. The sponsor is critical, but often misunderstood, responsible not just for justifying cost and schedule, but for identifying and defending monetizing and non-monetizing benefits throughout a project’s lifecycle—for the communities the build will employ, serve, and exist within. From the business case to resisting scope adjustments to navigating multi-layer funding in a changing political climate, project sponsors are quietly shaping the success of the country’s most ambitious projects.

Key Takeaways

Quote:

“When ​we're ​spending ​public ​money, ​I ​think ​all ​of ​us ​would ​agree ​we've ​got ​an ​absolute ​duty ​to ​say ​that ​we're ​spending ​it ​wisely ​because ​these ​things ​are ​expensive. ​There's ​never ​enough ​money ​to ​go ​around, ​not ​just ​our ​sector, ​but ​all ​the ​sectors. ​So ​the ​focus ​on ​cost ​should ​always ​be ​there. ​But, ​I ​think ​benefits ​are ​more ​difficult ​to ​explain ​because ​a ​lot ​of ​the ​time, ​especially ​in ​major ​projects, ​people ​get ​money, ​they ​understand ​what ​cost ​is, ​but ​the ​benefits ​are ​sometimes ​more ​nuanced.” - Carol Deveney

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