Sustainability in project management is no longer a bonus — it’s becoming an EU-wide imperative. This was the key message brought by the SPM² team at the flagship event “Managing EU-Funded Projects with PM²”, held on June 3, 2025, at the Hellenic American Union in Athens, Greece.
Organized by PM² Alliance, European Academy, and the Hellenic American Union, the event gathered over 100 professionals from across Europe to explore the evolving landscape of project management in EU-funded environments.
Bridging the Gap: From PM² Methodology to Real Sustainability Skills
At the heart of the event was the newly released PM² Addendum for EU-Funded Projects, presented by Nicos Kourounakis. It introduced important updates for aligning PM² with the European Commission’s evolving expectations around sustainability, green transition, and impact orientation.
In this context, the SPM² project stood out as a research-driven yet highly practical tool for helping project teams translate sustainability goals into everyday project work.
Prof. Dr. Danijela Ćirić Lalić presented SPM² as:
- A competency-based model for integrating sustainability throughout the project lifecycle;
- A source of empirical evidence on the most pressing competence gaps in sustainable project management;
- A training and curriculum design support tool based on real data from project practitioners.
“Sustainability is not just about deliverables—it’s about people and what they know how to do,” she emphasized during the expert panel.
Engaging the Community: Practitioners, Trainers, and Policymakers Alike
Attendees included:
- EU project managers and coordinators
- External evaluators, consultants, and National Contact Points
- Public sector officers overseeing EU implementation
- Academic staff and EU funding trainers
Visibility and Next Steps
The event helped strengthen the positioning of SPM² as a go-to framework for competence-driven sustainability integration. The presentation was supported by:
Dissemination via PM² Alliance and European Academy platforms;
Informal networking and knowledge exchange with trainers and capacity builders;
A follow-up LinkedIn post that captured key messages from the event;
Interest in using SPM² findings as a reference point for developing targeted training and policy alignment tools.
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