---
title: Sponsorship & Budget Management Guide
tags: sponsorship, budget, funding, companies, financial
folder: project-management
---

# Sponsorship & Budget Management Guide

This document defines how companies sponsor projects within the innovation consortium. Sponsorship is tracked in the knowledge graph via COMPANY_SPONSORS_PROJECT relationships with `sponsorship_level` and `budget_committed` properties.

## Sponsorship Levels

### Strategic

The highest level of commitment. The sponsoring company considers this project core to its business strategy.

**Characteristics:**
- Budget commitment: 70–90% of total project budget
- Executive sponsor assigned from the company's leadership
- Priority access to project outcomes and IP
- Company branding associated with the project

**Typical industries:** Companies in Robotics, Aerospace, or Finance sponsoring projects aligned with their core competencies (e.g., a Robotics company strategically sponsoring an Autonomous Delivery initiative).

### Operational

The company sponsors the project to improve or extend existing operations.

**Characteristics:**
- Budget commitment: 50–70% of total project budget
- Operations Lead or Business Analyst assigned as company liaison
- Focus on practical, deployable outcomes
- Success measured by operational efficiency gains

**Typical use:** A Logistics company sponsoring Supply Chain Visibility, or an Energy company sponsoring Sustainable Energy initiatives.

### Research

The company sponsors exploratory work without a guaranteed production outcome.

**Characteristics:**
- Budget commitment: 40–60% of total project budget
- Lower commitment threshold — acceptable to pivot or cancel
- Outputs may be published or shared with the consortium
- AI Researchers and Data Scientists typically lead

**Typical use:** An Education company sponsoring Personalized Learning research, or a Healthcare company sponsoring Climate Analytics to study environmental health impacts.

### Pilot

Small-scale, time-limited sponsorship to evaluate feasibility before committing to a larger engagement.

**Characteristics:**
- Budget commitment: 40–50% of total project budget
- Duration: 3–6 months maximum
- Clear go/no-go decision criteria defined upfront
- Minimum team: 3 people, typically at 4–8 hours/week each

**Typical use:** Any industry testing a new project theme — e.g., an Agriculture company piloting Smart City Infrastructure sensors for crop monitoring.

## Budget Management

### Budget Structure

Each project has a total budget ($500K–$6M) set during the PLANNING phase. Sponsors commit a portion of this budget via the `budget_committed` property on the COMPANY_SPONSORS_PROJECT relationship.

| Project Budget | Typical Sponsorship Range | Example |
|---|---|---|
| $500K – $1M | $200K – $900K | Pilot-level feasibility study |
| $1M – $3M | $400K – $2.7M | Standard operational project |
| $3M – $6M | $1.2M – $5.4M | Strategic multi-year initiative |

### Multi-Sponsor Projects

Projects may have multiple sponsors. Total committed budget across all sponsors should cover at least 80% of the total project budget. The remainder is covered by in-kind contributions (team member hours).

**Rules for multi-sponsor projects:**
- One sponsor must be designated as the "lead sponsor" (highest budget commitment)
- Each sponsor's contribution and expectations are documented separately
- The Project Manager reports to all sponsors, with lead sponsor having tie-breaking authority
- Budget reconciliation happens quarterly for multi-sponsor arrangements

### Budget Tracking

Monthly budget reviews compare:
- Committed budget (stored in graph) vs. actual spend
- Team hours × loaded cost rates vs. budgeted labor costs
- External costs (equipment, licenses, facilities) vs. budget line items

**Warning thresholds:**
- 75% budget consumed before 60% of timeline elapsed → flag to sponsor
- 90% budget consumed before 80% of timeline elapsed → mandatory scope review
- Budget overrun projected → requires sponsor approval to continue or transition to ON_HOLD

## Company Industry Alignment

While any company can sponsor any project, natural alignment between company industry and project theme leads to better outcomes:

| Industry | Naturally Aligned Themes | Cross-Industry Opportunities |
|---|---|---|
| Robotics | Autonomous Delivery, Robotic Process Automation | Advanced Materials, Smart City Infrastructure |
| Aerospace | Advanced Materials, Predictive Maintenance | Climate Analytics, Autonomous Delivery |
| Healthcare | Personalized Learning, Climate Analytics | AI-driven diagnostics (Predictive Maintenance pattern) |
| Education | Personalized Learning | Supply Chain (for ed-tech logistics) |
| Energy | Sustainable Energy, Climate Analytics | Smart City Infrastructure |
| Logistics | Supply Chain Visibility, Autonomous Delivery | Robotic Process Automation |
| Finance | Predictive Maintenance (fraud detection), Supply Chain Visibility | Climate Analytics (ESG) |
| Agriculture | Sustainable Energy, Climate Analytics | Smart City Infrastructure (precision ag) |
| Entertainment | Personalized Learning (content), Smart City Infrastructure | AR/VR integration |

## Useful Graph Queries

### Sponsorship portfolio by company
```cypher
MATCH (c:Company)-[s:COMPANY_SPONSORS_PROJECT]->(p:Project)
RETURN c.name, c.industry,
       count(p) AS projects_sponsored,
       sum(s.budget_committed) AS total_committed,
       collect(s.sponsorship_level) AS levels
ORDER BY total_committed DESC
```

### Budget utilization across active projects
```cypher
MATCH (c:Company)-[s:COMPANY_SPONSORS_PROJECT]->(p:Project)
WHERE p.status = 'ACTIVE'
RETURN p.name, p.budget AS total_budget,
       sum(s.budget_committed) AS total_committed,
       p.budget - sum(s.budget_committed) AS unfunded_gap
ORDER BY unfunded_gap DESC
```

### Companies sponsoring outside their natural industry alignment
```cypher
MATCH (c:Company)-[s:COMPANY_SPONSORS_PROJECT]->(p:Project)
RETURN c.name, c.industry, p.name AS project, s.sponsorship_level, s.budget_committed
ORDER BY c.industry, s.budget_committed DESC
```
