PROJECT LIFE CYCLE

Below you will find brief theory on the project lifecycle that will help you to understand the basic principles of project management. If you are interested in a more detailed and specific information, you are welcome to download our PROJECT MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK (available in Russian and in English).

Most studies on project management divide any project, whatever its nature and complexity, into four main stages: initiation, planning, execution and closure. EC has adopted a slightly different structure that can be applied both to donors and beneficiaries. On this website we give a brief overview of the EC project cycle; to find more detailed information, read full text of the EC Project Cycle Management Guidelines. The EC project management cycle is not limited to applications for EC funding: while other donors might have slightly different requirements and application forms, general content of the project proposal is likely to be the same. Therefore, we recommend using the EC project management cycle for drafting project proposals not only for the EC, but for other international donors as well.

The project management cycle consists of five stages – programming, identification, formulation, implementation, evaluation & audit. Each stage of the project management cycle should begin only after the previous one has been completed. First stage, programming, implies elaboration of a Country Strategy Paper, National Indicative Programme, or any other programme documents or guidelines, and is therefore the sole responsibility of the donor, which means that it does not apply to implementing agencies. In such a way, for NGOs that apply for funding, actual project management cycle should begin with identification.  Adjusting this categorisation to Belarusian legislation and conditions for project implementation, we supplement this list with one more category – official project registration. In such a way, project life cycle for Belarusian projects can be divided into the following phases: 

1. identification     
2. formulation      
3. official project registration
4. implementation
5. evaluation & audit

Why should we divide project activities into categories? Categorisation is required for efficient planning and organisation of resources for each activity. Moreover, it makes project management easier for the implementation team which can objectively assess achievement of specific goals and decide whether it is ready to move onto the following stage.