Pro Bono Lab · Project management experience
Your project management experience is real. Your paperwork should say so.
You coordinate people, budgets and deadlines every day. Yet nothing on paper shows it, and your CV gets filtered out. These pro bono projects, brought by Siel Bleu Ireland, give you project management experience on record: documented hours and a finished piece of work you can point to.
Every project runs on PRiSM, the sustainable project management method. It starts with a business case and checks people, planet and prosperity with a P5 Impact Analysis, so what you build keeps helping long after you hand it over.
Our Pro Bono Lab founding partners
Siel Bleu Ireland
Brings exercise classes to people across the country. Their team has real work to do, and learners help get it done.
13,000+ participants a week · 25 counties · 50+ employees
Common Ground Bray
A co-operative community space in Bray, home of the Project Showcase and of the quarterly showcases from 2027. First project: a regeneration of the place itself.
Co-operative · Church Terrace, Bray · Pre-project
The pipeline
Pick the pro bono project you want to deliver
The Pro Bono Lab project pipeline lists real projects from Siel Bleu Ireland that project managers and aspiring project managers can deliver, with hours documented and the work on record. Each one follows PRiSM, the sustainable project management method, and gives you real work for your project management portfolio. Filter by type or status to find your fit.
Showing 10 projects
Status guide: where a project sits in PRiSM
An idea has not yet been authorised, so it sits before Pre-Project. Each phase ends with a decision to carry on.
Live now
A new website that helps people access their services
The first project is already under way. The charter is signed and the scope is set. Next, the site takes shape in a private space where it can be tested before anyone sees it.
A lighter, simpler site also keeps its digital footprint small, which is part of how we judge good work here.
- Plan the work and keep it on schedule
- Test pages with real visitors in mind
- Write a clear handover guide the team can use
Where it stands, phase by phase
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Pre-Project
Charter and business case agreed with Siel Bleu Ireland.
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2
Discovery
First P5 Impact Analysis, and a clear list of what the site must do.
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3
Design
Content audit, sitemap, and a plan for safe testing and backup.
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4
Delivery
Build and test in staging, with review rounds along the way.
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5
Closure
Handover session, final impact check and sign-off.
How every project runs
Run the way sustainable projects are meant to run
Every Pro Bono Lab project follows PRiSM, the sustainable project management method from GPM. It is the same method taught on the CSPP™ course. Five phases, a decision at the end of each, and sustainability checked at every step instead of added at the end.
Pre-Project
Set the goal, agree who leads, and build the case to go ahead.
You produce: High-level business case.
Decision point. Carry on to Discovery only if the business case still holds.
Discovery
Define what is needed, link it to strategy, and run the first P5 Impact Analysis.
You produce: Requirements, first impact analysis, draft Sustainability Management Plan.
Decision point. Carry on to Design only if the business case still holds.
Design
Design the solution, agree what good looks like, and refine the sustainability analysis.
You produce: Design document, quality plan, updated impact analysis and plan.
Decision point. Carry on to Delivery only if the business case still holds.
Delivery
Build, test against what was agreed, and check the outcomes are sustainable.
You produce: Tested deliverables, change log, status reports, updated plan.
Decision point. Carry on to Closure only if the business case still holds.
Closure
Hand over, capture lessons, and report on sustainability.
You produce: Handover, stakeholder report, input for sustainability reporting, benefits plan.
Project complete. The benefits carry on after the team steps away.
Running through every phase: stakeholder engagement, risks and hidden impacts, and lessons captured as the work goes.
Kept up to date, not filed away: the business case and the Sustainability Management Plan are revisited at every phase.
It starts with a business case
Why this, why now, and what it must not cross
Before any work begins, the business case answers two questions: why this project, and why now. It also sets the limits the project works within, so sustainability is decided at the start and not argued about later.
For the website revamp, both sides gain and that is written down: a modernised site with a safe place to test changes and a backup behind it for Siel Bleu Ireland, and a first Pro Bono Lab case study for learners to build on.
The most harm the project may cause to people, planet and prosperity.
The least good it must do to be worth doing.
Tested at the decision point that ends every phase.
Sustainability checked, not assumed
The P5 Impact Analysis: five steps, run early, kept alive
Learners score a project’s effect on people, planet and prosperity on a scale of 1 to 5, act on what they find, then score again. It is run in Discovery and revisited in Design, Delivery and Closure.
- 1
Event
What could happen in the project, or when the result is used.
- 2
Cause and impact
Why it happens and what it does to sustainability.
- 3
Rate
Score it from 1 to 5 against the baseline.
- 4
Response
Act to reduce a harm or grow a benefit.
- 5
Re-rate
Score again, assuming the response is in place.
Two examples from the website revamp
Planet · Energy
What could happen: The rebuilt site carries heavy images and extra plugins, so every visit draws more energy.
Response: Optimise images and keep plugins to a minimum, as a design requirement.
People · Training
What could happen: Siel Bleu Ireland’s team has no experience with the new page builder or the safe testing routine, so the site drifts back to depending on others.
Response: A recorded walkthrough and a one-page cheat sheet at handover.
The scale runs from 1 (severe harm) through 3 (baseline) to 5 (a net-positive gain). Ratings shown are planned and are revisited at Delivery and Closure with what actually happened.
What you leave with
A project file that shows how the work was done
Not only a finished deliverable. A record of the thinking behind it, built the way the CSPP™ course teaches. Depending on the project, your file holds:
- A business case with its limits for harm and contribution
- A P5 Impact Analysis, rated, acted on and re-rated
- A Sustainability Management Plan, kept up to date
- A risk register that covers people, planet and prosperity
- A stakeholder map and engagement plan
- Quality checks and a change log
- A handover, a final review and a stakeholder report
- Your documented hours
How matching works
From where you are to proof you can show
You do not need a title to start. You need a willingness to do the work and to write down what you did.
Tell us where you are
Share your background, the time you can give and what you want to be able to prove.
We match you to a project
We look for a focus and a PRiSM phase that fit your experience, then agree what you will deliver.
Deliver and keep the proof
Your hours are documented and your finished work is on record, ready for your CV and your next conversation.
Built to last. Every project is checked for its effect on people, the planet and the long term, so the work keeps helping after you step away.
For organisations
Here for another reason?
A nonprofit with a project that needs finishing?
Good intentions deserve a finish line. Tell us what you are trying to deliver and we will see how the Lab can help.
Share your projectA team that pulls in different directions?
Group training gives your people one shared way of planning and delivering, with sustainability built in.
Talk about group trainingQuestions
Before you decide
What is PRiSM?
PRiSM stands for PRojects integrating Sustainable Methods. It is a complete way to run a project, from the first idea to handover, with sustainability built into every phase and a decision at the end of each one. It is the method taught on the CSPP™ course.
What is a P5 Impact Analysis?
It is a simple, structured way to spot a project’s effects on people, planet and prosperity, score them from 1 to 5, act on them, and score again. It is run early and kept up to date, so it changes what the team does.
How do I get project management experience without a job title?
Take on a real project. In the Pro Bono Lab you deliver a project for an organisation such as Siel Bleu Ireland, follow PRiSM, and finish with your hours documented and your work on record. That gives an employer something to read, not only something to hear.
How do I build a project management portfolio?
Start with real work. Each Pro Bono Lab project gives you a project file to show: the business case, your P5 Impact Analysis, your plan and what you delivered, with your hours documented. With the organisation’s agreement, you can share it with an employer or add it to your next application.
Do I need to be a project manager already?
No. Aspiring project managers are welcome, and so are people who already coordinate work without the title. The projects are matched to the experience you bring.
Are these projects confirmed?
Each row shows its current PRiSM phase. The website revamp has its charter signed and sits in Discovery. Ideas have not yet been authorised and are still taking shape with Siel Bleu Ireland. Projects can change as the organisation’s priorities change.
What do I get on paper?
A record of the hours you put in and what you delivered, so your experience can be seen by an employer rather than only described to one.
Can my organisation suggest a project?
Yes. Use the project partnership form and tell us what you are trying to finish. We will come back to you about fit and timing.
Pick a project. Leave with proof.
Join the Pro Bono Lab, work on a real project with a real organisation, and finish with your hours documented and your work on record.
See the Pro Bono Lab