KEY TOPICS 2

  • Managing Change

  • Leadership & teams

  • Governance & ethics

  • Artifitial Inteligence

Managing Change

Projects deliver change. Change meets resistance. The PM's job is not just to manage the technical deliverable, but to ensure that the people who will use it actually adopt it. Most project "failures" aren't technical — they're human.

Kotter's 8-Step Model

Show why change is necessary — NOW. Data, stories, competitor examples.

Get influential people on board early. In charities: trustees, senior volunteers, long-serving staff.

Make the future state clear and compelling. People don't resist change — they resist unclear change.

Repeat it relentlessly. Use every channel. Involve line managers and volunteers.

Identify and fix barriers — training gaps, process conflicts, resistant managers.

Celebrate early successes. This maintains momentum and counters cynicism.

Keep the momentum. Don't declare victory too soon.

Make the change the new normal. Link it to stories, rewards, and organisational identity.

Kubler-Ross Change Curve

Originally developed to describe grief (Kübler-Ross, 1969), this model maps how people emotionally respond to change. Understanding where your staff or volunteers are on this curve helps you respond appropriately.

  • Shock/Denial — "This won't really happen." PM response: communicate clearly, repeat often.

  • Anger/Frustration — "Why are they doing this?" PM response: listen actively, acknowledge concerns.

  • Bargaining/Exploration — "What if we did it differently?" PM response: involve in solution design.

  • Depression/Resistance — Low point. PM response: support, training, mentoring.

  • Acceptance/Integration — "This is how we work now." Celebrate and reinforce.


MANAGING CHANGE

LEADERSHIP & TEAMS

Leadership & Team Management

Project managers lead without always having authority. In charities, you may lead volunteers who outrank you in experience. In SMEs, you may manage a cross-functional team without being their line manager. Influence, trust, and emotional intelligence are your tools.

Tuckman's Team Stages

Forming (polite, uncertain) → Storming(conflict, frustration) → Norming(cohesion forms) → Performing (high output).

Adjourning was added in 1977. Most small teams never reach Performing because they storm and disband. Your job: get them through Storming fast.

Motivation in Charities

Volunteers are not motivated by money, they're driven by purpose, recognition and belonging (Pink, 2009: Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose).

For paid charity staff, Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory applies:

Eliminate hygiene factors (poor pay, bad management) and add motivators (achievement, recognition, growth).

Belbin Team Roles

Meredith Belbin (1981) identified 9 team roles: Plant, Resource Investigator, Co-ordinator, Shaper, Monitor Evaluator, Teamworker, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Specialist. Small teams will have people playing multiple roles, knowing your gaps helps you recruit or compensate.

Volunteer Management in Ireland

Volunteer Ireland provides excellent resources for charities managing volunteers as part of project teams. Their Volunteer Management Guide covers recruitment, induction, recognition, and handling difficult situations — all critical for project success when volunteers are key team members.

Governance, Ethics & Compliance

Good governance is not bureaucracy, it's the structures, processes, and culture that enable accountability and good decision-making. For Irish charities, it's also a legal requirement. For SMEs, it's the foundation of sustainable growth.

The Charities Regulator

Established under the Charities Act 2009, the Charities Regulator requires all registered charities to comply with the Governance Code. For project managers in the charity sector, this means: maintaining a risk register, having clear financial controls, ensuring adequate insurance, declaring conflicts of interest, and filing annual reports. Non-compliance can result in investigation.

GDPR & Data Protection

Any project handling personal data (of beneficiaries, donors, customers) must comply with GDPR. Data Protection Commission (DPC) Ireland can investigate and fine organisations up to €20M or 4% of turnover. Conduct a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for projects involving personal data.

PMI Code of Ethics & Professional Conduct

PMI's Code of Ethics (2006) identifies four core values

  • Responsibility

  • Respect

  • Fairness

  • Honesty

For Irish project managers, this means:

  • declaring conflicts of interest

  • providing honest assessments (not telling sponsors what they want to hear)

  • treating all team members with dignity and reporting concerns through proper channels.

Ethical Procurement

For SMEs and charities spending public or donor funds, procurement ethics matter. Follow public procurement guidelines (OGP Ireland), declare supplier relationships, and document procurement decisions. Even small contracts need audit trails

ECCSR

Framework that helps run projects, ensuring they are ethical, collaborative, valuable, sustainable and results-focused.

Joe Houghton

E – Ethical decisions

  • Is the project doing the right thing?

  • Considers fairness, transparency, accountability

C – Collaboration

  • Are the right people involved?

  • Emphasis on teamwork and stakeholder engagement

C – Creating value

  • Does the project actually produce meaningful outcomes?

  • Not just “finishing tasks” but delivering real benefit

S – Sustainable practices

  • Long-term thinking

  • Environmental, social, and organisational sustainability

R – Results

  • Does it deliver:

    • on time

    • within budget

    • at the required quality

FULL BOOK FOR PURCHASE

GOVERNANCE

ETHICS

AI

AI TOOLS FOR PM

Artificial Inteligence

The integration of Artificial Intelligence into project management (AI-PM) represents a shift from static tracking to active, data-driven coordination. For non-profit organizations and charities in Ireland, understanding this technology is essential for maintaining operational efficiency and meeting modern regulatory standards.

Predictive Analytics vs. Historical Reporting

Traditional project management focuses on what has happened (e.g., a project is currently behind schedule). AI-PM uses machine learning to identify patterns and forecast what will happen. By analyzing team velocity and resource allocation, AI can alert managers to potential bottlenecks weeks before they occur.

Task Automation and "Agentic" Workflows

AI "agents" are now capable of handling administrative tasks that previously required manual entry.

This includes:

  • Meeting Synthesis: Automatically generating minutes and extracting action items.

  • Smart Scheduling: Balancing volunteer hours and staff availability based on historical productivity peaks.

  • Document Triage: Categorizing and filing compliance documents (e.g., Garda vetting renewals or health and safety audits) automatically.

Regulatory and Ethical Frameworks in Ireland (2026)

General Scheme of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026

Irish Computer Society

Charity SORP 2026 - What Charities Need to Know

As of 2026, all Irish organizations must categorize their AI use. Most NGO project management tools fall under "Limited Risk," but any AI used for recruitment or assessing social security/assistance eligibility is classified as "High Risk" and requires strict auditing and human oversight.

Under GDPR, personal data concerning donors or vulnerable service users must remain within the European Economic Area (EEA). NGOs should ensure their AI providers use "Private Cloud" models where data is not used to train public AI models.

Educational project management emphasizes that AI models can inherit biases from their training data. In a non-profit context, this means AI recommendations regarding resource distribution must be regularly audited to ensure they are equitable.

Strategic Implementation for Non-Profits

To implement AI effectively without disrupting existing services, organizations typically follow a three-tier educational roadmap

Phase - Focus - Objective

Literacy

Staff Training

  • Understanding the difference between Generative AI (content) and Predictive AI (data).

Governance

Policy Creation

  • Establishing clear guidelines on who is responsible for AI-generated outputs (Human-in-the-Loop).

Integration

Tool Adoption

  • Moving from standalone AI tools (like chatbots) to integrated systems within existing project boards.

The Role of the "Human-in-the-Loop"

The most critical educational takeaway for the sector is that AI is a decision-support tool, not a decision-maker.

In the context of Irish social services and community development, the final "sign-off" on any project milestone or strategic pivot must remain with a human project manager to ensure the organization's core values and empathy are maintained.