Project Handbook, Quality Plan & Risk Management

The Search and Rescue management activities aim to reach the objectives according to the project plan and within the allocated budget, resources, and with the needed quality. Therefore, this deliverable defines the structures, the procedures, and the supporting documents needed to assure the quality of the project deliverables and project management activities With regards to the project management structure, it is based on the following bodies and roles: (i) the Project Coordinator (PC) as the main responsible of coordination and interface to the Commission (ii) the General Assembly (GA) as the supervisory body for the project execution with monitoring functions and decision-making body in all relevant project matters (iii) the Scientific-Technical Coordinator (STC) as the main responsible for the overall project scientific and technical implementation, (iv) the Scientific Technical Committee (STC) as the body supervising accordingly the scientific and technical activities and results of the project, (v) the Dissemination, Exploitation and Innovation Committee (DEIC) as the body responsible for the dissemination, exploitation and innovation activities of the S& project and (vi) the Management Support Team (MST), as the instrument supporting and facilitating the work of the PC. Additionally, the project will involve Advisory and Ethics Boards, respectively engaging decision makers and stakeholder community representatives providing insights and recommendations, and independent experts monitoring and providing guidance over ethics-related issues. In order to ensure a fluent communication inside the consortium, the PC will cost-effectively schedule meetings, which will allow the participants to communicate face to face, only when necessary and will provide an alternative and maintain the communication during the whole project lifetime through different communication tools (e.g., teleconferences, mailing lists, project repository, etc.). The document at hand further includes a quality assurance plan that will ensure that project quality remains at a high level throughout the project cycle. This plan sets a final internal review for each deliverable. The Quality Assurance is managed by the Quality Manager (QM) of the Search and Rescue project, who reports to the Project Coordinator. Finally, the document details a risk management plan in order to anticipate risky situations that can affect the project's normal progress or even put it in danger. Additionally, a list of potential mitigation measures is presented in order to take decisions accordingly and act in time to minimise the impact