A project kick-off meeting brings everyone together who will be involved in the project, to ensure they have a shared understanding of the project goals, deliverables and workflow. Establishing the importance of communication and coordination from the outset will help to ensure a successful project.

1. Gather documentation

In preparation for the kick-off meeting, ensure that you have compiled all the documents relevant to your project such as the proposal, budget, schedule, work packages, deliverables, milestones, consortium partner and stakeholder names and contact details.

2. Prepare for the Meeting

Consider creating a meeting plan, a formal agenda, and practice your presentation ahead of time. The meeting should include all of your project consortium, as well as key stakeholders. During your project kick-off meeting, you should:

• Introduce yourself and project team members
• Review the project scope and objectives
• Review the high-level timelines and milestones
• Review the project responsibilities and deliverables
• Validate the proposed workflow
• Provide an overview of the project management and coordination activities
• Provide an overview of communication, dissemination and exploitation activities
• Identify potential challenges and steps that you will take to address them
• Secure buy-in on the project purpose, plan, and outcomes
• Confirm the next steps (e.g. agree a tentative schedule for future meetings)
• Record any decisions made during the meeting
• Send out minutes from the meeting and include actions and next steps.