From Aurora Borealis to Carpathians. Searching the Road to Regional and Rural Development

II. Project Cycle Management. Views on 2004 version and its application

A way to benchmark and organise the activity occurring in regional and rural development project
and programmes is project cycle management (PCM). Initially proposed by European Commission
in 1993 as a tool for handling international co-operation, now PCM is largely used by governments
and non-governmental organisations. Revised versions have been produced in 2001 and 2004. If
1993 version was a condensed brochure, the 2004 version comprises no less than 158 pages,
incorporating experiences and analyses of PCM at work. The current version refers in larger detail
to the evaluation criteria and quality factors. This section provides a glance to the 2004 version of
PCM in an attempt to identify potential use in management of project affecting rural and regional
development.

Very often, task managers, being them project or programme managers, find themselves in the
following situation (see the picture bellow).

Figure 3 The Task Manager’s Web of Relationships (PCM Guidelines 2004, p.2)

To cope with different partners and be aware of their role, a structured approached is needed. Such
approach is suggested by adopting a cyclical vision on the project work. The main phases of a
project, being it understood as a small scale project or as a sector programme, are programming,
identification, formulation and evaluation. Each phase of the cycle consists of different activities
and it is associated to certain responsibilities and decisions. Completion of one phase is necessary to
pass to the next one. The cyclical nature of the phases’ succession is illustrated by the next figure.

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