Managing a path project

Assuming that you’ve worked out what you want to do, you’ve found some money to pay for it and you’ve come up with a project design, you should be almost ready to head into the actual do-ing of the project.  But before you start swinging any tools, or signing any contracts, you should have a think about how you’re going to manage the delivery of the project.

As you’ve gone through the design process, you should have decided whether or not you’re going to do the work yourself, use contractors and consultants or a combination of both.  You may need to go through a tender process to select a suitable contractor, so you need to think about how you’ll do that and who will manage it.   There’s also a lot to consider in terms of the type of contract set-up you’ll have, who will keep an eye on the works whilst they’re taking place and how you’ll sign them off.  For example, will you visit the work site on a regular basis, will you pay in installments or at the end of the project and who is the contractor's main contact point?  There’s more information on managing contractors in this factsheet as well as in the Lowland Paths Guide.

You also need to think about your funders – who will be responsible for keeping them informed and for completing any claim forms that are required.  If you’re being paid by the funder after the work is completed, how will you manage your ‘cash flow’ – do you have enough funds to pay the contractor whilst you wait for your funder to process your grant claim?

Before starting on the building work you should also think about how you’ll keep local people informed.  Construction works can often look worse before they get better so you need to think in advance about keeping people up to speed with what’s going on.  You should also think about whether or not there’s scope for generating publicity about the work that’s going on – would the local press be interested?  You can find more information about managing press and publicity here.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you have nominated, competent people who are responsible for dealing with different aspects of the project.  Otherwise it’s easy to assume that someone else will do it and important jobs can end up getting missed.