Category 4: Management
Management basics
What is the role of project management and why is it necessary?
Sex work settings can be highly complex environments. Managing the relationships between project partners and stakeholders, solving problems and maintaining community support and involvement in projects are primary management functions.
Leadership and decision-making structures serve to ensure that a project fulfils its mission and remains accountable to its constituencies, including sex workers and their communities and funding agencies. A clear organizational structure enables people to understand the boundaries of roles and responsibilities associated with different posts, including who is involved in decision-making at various levels, who is managed by whom and why, and what channels of communication are appropriate.
Who should be involved?
Project management should be approached as a collaborative effort between project partners and members of the community. Involving communities and organizing peer networks is integral to effective intervention. Research has shown that by strengthening and mobilizing community networks and building their capacity, safer working environments and higher levels of condom use can be achieved.