Project Management in Romania
I have traveled six times now to Romania. The first purpose was to respond to a need for project management training in response to Avian Influenza. that done, the government indicated there was a dire need for a more in-depth approach. Thus, the ramining trips. So far I have trained 72 people, all government middle management types. I took the training to three cities (Bucharest, Tulcea, and Brasov) so the training would have a larger impact on regional governments, known there as counties. All of the participants brought real world problems to develop into project plans. So far, seven have been approved for funding by the European Union, two by the World Bank, and others are pending.
The lesson learned here is to not assume that since many Eastern European countries came out of a Soviet-style existance that they should understand Soviet-style planning (remember the Five Year Plan?). The problem with that old style was that it was top-downb and directed. It lacked the participantion of stakeholders and had almost no buy-in from middle managers and workers. That was also the reason they mostly failed.
I hope to continue this program next fiscal year (I am awaiting a funding response) to develop a train-the-trainer team and a risk management team. The government also asked for a recommendation on how to organize themselves to be more adaptive to projects.
All in all, a success. If anyone out there would like aome advice on planning this sort of endeavor, please feel free to contact me.
