INTRODUCTION

In discussing change and the management of innovation, we have considered factors which influence dissemination and adoption. Managing change can be very complex, involving decisions at many levels, and the efforts of many people. While there is no totally foolproof way of managing change, we believe that project management provides an effective methodology and set of tools for change management. Although conceived and developed for large-scale projects, up to and including those on a national level (as described by Barber, 2007, in the context of public service reform in the UK), project management can be usefully adapted to the smaller scale of the LTO, and in this section we will outline an approach to project management which can be applied or adapted to implementing innovation at local level.

Increasingly, project management is seen as an essential element of management on a wider scale. Indeed, project management can teach us many valuable lessons regarding management writ large. But what is a project? The three examples below illustrate the range of activities covered by projects.

• 1 The academic director of an IEP associated with a undergraduate programme in a US university is tasked with designing a new course to assist students with the demands of academic writing. She forms a team to develop the course, and together they develop a plan for creating the course and materials.

• 2 A not-for-profit LTO in Poland decides to develop e-learning materials for potential students who are unable to attend English classes onsite. They build a partnership of like-minded institutions in other European Union countries, all of whom are interested in similar work, and apply for funds through the European Commission. The Polish co-ordinating LTO is charged with managing the international project, and submitting a report and the final product to the Commission.

• 3 The co-ordinator of the writing programme at a Middle Eastern university decides that he would like to reorganize the computer lab in order to make it a more conducive place for learning. He writes a proposal and submits it to the Dean of the department, and subsequently is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the changes as they go ahead.