Kick-off

What?

A kick-off is a popular way of getting started, reformulate and process the idea of the project and draw up potential drafts to the project plan. With a structured program there is a clear start to the project, the participants get to know one another, and experiences from the kick-off often become an important shared reference point.

"The critical moment was actually the kick-off. What was really good was that we had really lots of time, just to talk about the set-up. The energy from that helped to keep us going. Everyone had the chance to express themselves, to say what they thought, ...we discussed everything, decided on all the workshop dates, we did as much as possible."

How?

The programme for the kick-off needs to be well planned. Important aspects to discuss, investigate and, where relevant, take decisions about are:

  • A shared "rich picture" of the problem area based on the participants' perspectives.
  • The project's purpose, aims and issues.
  • The project's scope and resources.
  • Overview of who may be affected by the project issues and expected results.
  • Communication and implementation plan.
  • Division of work: How the work will proceed, who will do what and why (division of roles).
  • Forms of cooperation: How cooperation and communication will be developed and maintained.

"... there's a mutual respect. There's no prestige, as it were. I can do certain things and the others can do certain things, and certain things we can all do together. And after all [some of the participants] have been recruited to do certain things, so they don't need to assert themselves. And when we disagree, we discuss why. Explain and discuss. When there's no prestige there are no [conflicts] either."