Students will progress from understanding the EU funding landscape and strategic priorities, through stakeholder and problem analysis, to the production of a Project Charter ready for the transition to detailed planning. The laboratory replicates the real-world process of EU project ideation, where a project idea must be refined, justified, and formally documented before submission to a funding call.
By integrating PCM's analytical rigour with PM²'s governance structure, students will develop the competencies required to initiate and manage complex EU-funded programmes, preparing them for professional roles in international project management, European affairs and public policy implementation

Contenuti (Dipl.Sup.) CONTENUTI Introduction EU Strategies and Agenda 2030 progress reports: SDG topic selection, Overview of EU funds 2021-2027. Introduction to PCM and PM² methodologies, Main EU programmes
The Project Cycle Management (PCM) approach: Programming, Identification, Formulation, Implementation, and Evaluation. The Logical Framework Approach (LFA): intervention logic linking problems, objectives, results, and activities.

The PM² methodology: lean and practical framework for project management structured around four phases: Initiating, Planning, Executing, and Closing. Clear role definitions, and standardized artefacts such as the Project Initiation Request, Business Case, and Project Charter.
PCM and PM2 combined: Analysis of strategic context and European priorities (MFF, Green Deal, Digital Decade). Analysis of the Programming Framework. How to read a Call and how to apply on offcial EU websites, Mapping relevant calls. Aligning project ideas with EU strategic objectives. The CHARTER and its main key points. The EU Evaluation grids.
Stakeholder Analysis and SWOT analysis. Stakeholder analysis techniques. Mapping direct and indirect beneficiaries. Identification of potential partnership. EU SKILLS, tasks and the roles of: Project Leader, Project manager, project designer, Partnership building and Consortium structure.

Problem and Objective Analysis. Problem Tree and Objective Tree techniques. From problem to solution: the intervention logic. From Identification to Project Initiation. Initial definition of needs, context and expected outcomes.

The GANTT CHART and the Business Planning. Activities definition, WBS, High-level timeline, Initial Cost-benefit analysis. Alternative solutions. Roadmap.

The Logical Framework Approach (LFA). Building the Logical Framework Matrix: objectives, results, activities, indicators, sources of verification, assumptions. The Project Charter structure. Definition of scope, objectives, activities, milestones, deliverables. Initial risks and assumptions. Constraints. Preliminary budget.

Testi di riferimento TESTI_RIF 3800 Sì Study Materials:
- Helameri, E., Krastina, A., & Raasakka, E. (2022). EU Project Planning and Management Handbook. Lapland University of Applied Sciences.
• Series: Lapland UAS Publications, Series D. Other publications 13/2022
• ISBN: 978-952-316-449-8 (PDF)
• Open access: https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/786316 Creative Commons.
- European Commission (2021). PM² Project Management Methodology Guide 3.0. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
• ISBN: 978-92-76-29878-8
• Open access: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/b8458be2-821d-11eb-9ac9-01aa75ed71a1 European Union, 2021. Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

The course provides students with hands-on experience in the early stages of EU project development, combining two complementary methodological frameworks officially adopted by the European Union.
The Project Cycle Management (PCM) approach, introduced by the European Commission in 1992, offers a structured methodology for designing and managing EU-funded projects through sequential phases: Programming, Identification, Formulation, Implementation, and Evaluation. Its core analytical tool, the Logical Framework Approach (LFA), ensures that projects maintain a clear intervention logic linking problems, objectives, results, and activities.
The PM² methodology, developed by the European Commission and openly available since 2018, provides a lean and practical framework for project management structured around four phases: Initiating, Planning, Executing, and Closing. PM² emphasizes governance, clear role definitions, and standardized artefacts such as the Project Initiation Request, Business Case, and Project Charter.
Students will progress from understanding the EU funding landscape and strategic priorities, through stakeholder and problem analysis, to the production of a complete Project Charter ready for the transition to detailed planning. The laboratory replicates the real-world process of EU project ideation, where a project idea must be refined, justified, and formally documented before submission to a funding call.
By integrating PCM's analytical rigour with PM²'s governance structure, students will develop the competencies required to initiate and manage complex EU-funded programmes, preparing them for professional roles in international project management, European affairs, and public policy implementation.

Metodi didattici METODI_DID 3800 Sì For attending students, the teaching methodology includes lectures supported by slides uploaded on Teams group, which are essential for preparing the final oral examination. Seminars will be held in coordination with other external experts from the field. The course includes practical exercises distributed across key moments and requires active interaction in EU project identification and simulation activities. Attending Students will be asked to present first draft of a project charter working directly on project funding calls and official project application forms.

For ATTENDING STUDENTS, the final oral examination is required.
The assessment criteria are: knowledge of the subject matter, clarity of presentation, ability to articulate arguments using technically correct language, and capacity for synthesis. Additionally, the final evaluation will also take into account participation in class activities (discussions, case study presentations, charter drafting and laboratories and practical exercises carried out in group work on project design, individual role inside teams). All of this is aimed at verifying whether the course objectives, as indicated above, have been achieved.
For NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS, the examination consists of an interview aimed at verifying the level of understanding of the fundamental aspects of the subject as developed in the two indicated texts. The assessment criteria are: knowledge of the subject matter, clarity of presentation, ability to articulate arguments using technically correct language, and capacity for synthesis.

Goals
The course aims to provide students with the following competences:
D1-KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: to develop interdisciplinary skills on Agenda 2030 SDG and understanding of EU complex management methodologies in order to distinguish between different approaches.
D2-APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: to acquire critical skills in dealing with complex PM issues and to develop methodological and theoretical tools aimed at promoting sustainability at human, social, economic, and environmental level.
D3-MAKING JUDGMENTS: to develop the ability to understand texts of different nature (scientific, divulgative, reporting) and to develop original reflections supported by a substantial body of reference literature on the two modules of the courses.
D4-COMMUNICATION SKILLS: to discuss in class theoretical and methodological constructs coming from the literature, demonstrating conceptual accuracy, as well as to present the results and project ideas of their own class activities.
D5-LEARNING SKILLS: to find relevant sources and secondary literature and to use them in an appropriate manner, as well as to work in groups, building with other students and the teacher a learning community.