Highland Biodiversity - Projects

Projects

Lessons Learned

Don't underestimate the time it takes to manage individual projects, particularly when the project leaders are volunteers.
Community-based projects always take a long time to get started, and people are often reluctant to spend money (especially at the outset).
Make sure your project leaders have all the information regarding accreditation, logos and any other funding conditions at the start and at various stages through the project.
Remind the project leaders & groups what the agreed outcomes of the project are, and get them to agree a reasonable timescale with 'SMART' targets that relate to the funders' outcomes at the outset (there may have been some slippage in the start date).
Allow plenty of time for people to respond to queries and don't be afraid to chase them up.
If the budget is being held by a large organisation such as a council, it can be extremely difficult to keep track of the project's spend. You should keep a note of orders, invoices & payments handy to answer any queries regarding payments and help complete the claims.
Try to get all the funders to agree to the same claim form, at the same time (ideally just once a year).
If your project encourages people to submit records, make sure you build in sufficient funds to pay for the records to be collated, verified and made available to the public (if appropriate).