People in Need’s Scheme for Sri Lankan Refugees Has Won the Best Project Management Contest

The Cash for Work project of public works was carried out in seven villages in the aftermath of the war that had forced three hundred thousand people to leave their homes. “Over 17 million crowns were paid in wages to the people’s personal accounts. This money helped them not only to cover their food and other material needs, but also invest into the future sources of livelihood”, Petr Drbohlav, the then PIN Head of Mission in Sri Lanka and present Regional Desk Officer for Asia, explains the major benefits of the project.

The Cash for Work scheme proves to be much more effective than the distribution of food. “On top of that, the money was paid in by money transfer, which reduced a potential threat of blackmail. At the same time, the recipients could resolve complaints via a mobile phone and they themselves managed the working groups, which enabled them to engage both - older or wounded people,” Petr Drbohlav enumerates the advantages of the project.

PIN succeeded in competing with commercial businesses

“This year’s contest has brought some interesting and elaborate projects. I am pleased that alongside traditional areas such as ICT, banking or procedural changes, humanitarian aid projects are also eager to participate,” Patrik Schober, Managing Partner from the organizing company PRAM Consulting, commented on the course of the competition.

“The project of People in Need was truly unique and extraordinary. Its focus appeared to be completely distinct from the projects which traditionally take part in the Best Project Management contest. We would like to emphasize the fact that this project did not win thanks to its beneficial objectives, but simply because it best met the criteria of a professional project management. Above all, the panel appreciated the successfully handled risk management in difficult operating conditions, high-quality set up of management and communication structure for project implementation, proper financial management, and finally a considerable and clearly measurable  and tangible benefit resulting in a well-mapped and discernible positive impact on the community,” Petr Knap from Ernst&Young Company explained the panel’s decision.

People in Need had entered the Best Project Management contest for the first time. “We only wanted to see if our project work would stand a chance in competing with commercial companies. I was pleased that we had succeeded, but it would not have been possible without the professional background of People in Need,” Petr Drbohlav, who has been a member of the organization since 2005 and has already operated in Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, points out.

Now, he is the organization’s Regional Desk Officer for Asia. Apart from that, he is in charge of the missions in Cambodia, Mongolia or Sri Lanka, and PIN’s humanitarian and development projects in Burma in the People in Need’s headquarters in Prague.

Sri Lanka project

During the course of this project with a total budget of 20,546,096 Czech crowns there were 3,529 families involved in the Cash for Work project of public works, 562 km of roads, 38 irrigation canals and 498 km of road ditches were repaired, 991 square kilometres of public areas were cleaned, 9 semi-permanent bridges and 2 nurseries were built, 1 primary and 1 nursery school were roofed, and 50 metres of dam walls were constructed.

The Best Project Management contest

The aim of the Best Project Management contest is to find and award the best realized project and successful project managers in the Czech and Slovak Republics as well as to spark a greater interest in the profession of project management and project management in general among both the professionals and non-professionals alike. You can learn more about the competition here.

For more information please contact:

Petr Drbohlav, PIN Regional Desk Officer for Asia, +420 724 329 285

Zuzana Záhorová, Key Account Manager, PRAM Consulting s.r.o. (the contest organizer), +420 603 189 570