Public Interventions The contribution of project management to public spending efficiency in Europe

Maria da Graça Carvalho and the Project Management Institute co-hosted a Parliamentary Dinner on the The contribution of project management to public spending efficiency in Europe.  

The main idea of the meeting was that excellence in programme and project management is of crucial importance during periods of fiscal constraint. All over the EU, governments are required to spend the increasingly scarce funding in an ever more efficient manner. In recent years up to €50 billion of EU funding has been refunded to Member States because it has not been claimed or allocated. Therefore curbing fiscal profligacy in public spending at the EU and national levels is of optimum importance given the on-going parliamentary debate around the review of EU Cohesion Policy and the Multiannual Financial Framework post-2014.

During her intervention, Maria da Graça Carvalho said that "in these times of tight budgets and general austerity, efficiency is of even greater importance than usual.  It is essential, in the respect, that the programmes that we design are as simple and user friendly as possible. This is why I introduced the simplification report". 

To conclude, Ms Carvalho added that in addition to simplification, "it is essential that we improve the quality of our programme and project managers. Given that the EU institutions plan to allow for the multi-funding of programmes, this means that expert project management is all the more essential". 

In this context, the dinner co-hosted by Maria da Graça Carvalho and the Project Management Institute (PMI) provided an opportunity for MEPs and Commission officials to have a frank dialogue on the role that more efficient and rigorous project management should have in helping governmental bodies in curtailing wastage and misallocation of EU funding in Member States.

The leading global association and advocate for the project management profession, PMI, presented ideas on how best to overcome the challenges from a stakeholder's point of view.