Unit 11: Project Design and Management
Model of project development activity guide
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This project was funded by the Department of Sustainability and Environment.
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Unit 11: Project Design and Management
Model of project development activity guide
Estimated duration: 15 minutes
Aim •
To introduce participants to a five stage model of project development
Outcome By the end of this class, students will be able to: • Understand the five stages of project development that constitute a sustainability project
Resources •
None
Activity description Discuss with students the five stages of project development, as set out below. These steps will be applied to their own project in unit 12. Scoping This is often the most important stage of project development. If you don’t cover all the bases you might not be able to fulfil your project goals. Consider the following example: It’s like preparing to plant a potted vegetable garden. Because you live in an apartment and don’t have a backyard, the first thing you have to do is work out if there’s a need for a vegetable garden and if it’s possible for you to have one. Then you will need to find out where the best position for a potted garden will be, and what to grow. So, you set out to do some research. You already know that you love fresh veggies and would probably find gardening really satisfying, so there’s probably a need for a veggie patch. You know that there isn’t already a veggie patch in your apartment (that was easy to work out), but is it possible to have a garden without a backyard and without heaps of time available? You jump on the internet and find lots of resources that tell you that you can have grow vegetables in an apartment, if you have a sunny spot. In this case it’s your balcony. You ask other people, like your friend André, who has a big backyard and has been growing and harvesting vegetables in his garden for years. He suggests that you grow tomatoes, capsicum, zucchini and lettuce, as these can all be grown without much effort.
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Planning Your next step is to plan how you are going to achieve your project/veggie patch. First you work out what equipment you need. You make a big list: pots, potting mix, seeds, wooden stakes (for the tomatoes), fertiliser, a trowel and gloves. Then you work out how much it will cost: you head on down to your local nursery and price all the equipment and resources. Starting from scratch is expensive and it adds up to more than you can afford. So instead of throwing in the towel, you consider who might be able to help? Maybe André could lend you some equipment? You pay him a visit and not only does he offer you some pots that he doesn’t use any more, but he also gives you seeds that he has collected from his own vegetable crops. He also lends you a trowel. You head on down to the nursery and buy the potting mix and instead of purchasing gardening gloves you figure you can just use dishwashing gloves instead. Promotion The next thing you do is call a few friends and invite them over for lunch and a gardening session. Your friends aren’t exactly green thumbs but they agree it would be a fun way to catch up and do something a bit different. Delivery So you spend the afternoon potting the seed, watering the pots and having lunch with your friends. It proves to be an enjoyable experience and you’re all excited about the potential veggies to come. Over the next few months you tend to the pots, watering them regularly and shifting them around to share the sunlight. You see them grow from seedlings to small shrubs that bear vegetables. Your lettuces have grown rapidly and you’re already enjoying the benefits of having a handy food supply. Evaluation After you harvest a bucket of tomatoes you take some over to your friend André. He’s impressed, but examines them closely. He comments on the colour – they are a little pale – and the taste – a little sour. He suggests harvesting them a little later next time, when they are a rich red colour, and maybe letting these ones stand for a few days so they sweeten up. That’s good feedback and when you get home you scribble the following pointers in your gardening book: harvest when red or let stand for a few days before eating… You’re impressed by how well things turned out: you’ve learnt new things, worked differently with different people and enjoyed growing a gorgeous veggie garden, despite not having a backyard. Nice one! Managing a project in sustainability isn’t exactly like growing a garden but the same development stages apply. The next activity will involve working in small groups to
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develop a project based on a scenario. Students will all work on the same scenario, but will have an opportunity to develop different project ideas and frameworks.
Student Roles and Responsibilities Participate in agreed tasks Contribute to class discussions Work cooperatively with others Seek teacher assistance and support when needed
Level of Teacher Support Facilitate discussion Provide encouragement Introduce tasks and activities Provide assistance when requested.
Assessment To use this learning activity as an assessment task, collect evidence such as: Teacher checklist and observation Teacher checklist for class discussions
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