Congratulations on being the Project Sponsor!  The project cannot be successful without you.  Your function is to provide support to the project manager and project team, nurture high-level contacts and champion the project to provide exposure and buy-in from State government and officials, and monitor the project's overall performance. 

Additional responsibilities are required throughout the life (initiation, planning, execution, control, and closeout) of the project, including but not limited to:

• Initiation - Provide strategic plans and guidance to correctly identify the relevance and value of the project both today and in the future; define sponsor needs; obtain funding for project when necessary; and assign sponsorship personnel as points of contact.
• Planning - Review and approve the Project Plan and participate in planning sessions.
• Execution - Attend executive requirement reviews; help resolve requirements problems; and provide written agreement to requirements and qualifying criteria.
• Control - Attend and participate as needed at Project Status Reviews and steering meetings.

Closeout - Provide representatives to attend lessons-learned meetings and sign off on project completion.