Module 4.5: Safeguarding your project

Safeguarding your project

In this module, you’ll learn how to spot potential risks, meet important requirements, and set your team up for success. A well-prepared project runs more smoothly, and tackling challenges early helps keep things on track. This module provides practical tools to make sure your project stays safe and provides the best outcomes for you and your participants.

This module will explore:

How to recognise potential risks and unpacking how to manage them
Key rules, requirements, and training essentials to keep your project running smoothly
Ways to support and prepare your team for success
A recap of key takeaways to help you feel confident moving forward

Learning outcome:

By the end of this module, you’ll have a clear plan to reduce risks, meet key requirements, and feel prepared to deliver your project with confidence.

Introduction video

Why safeguarding matters

Safeguarding your project isn’t just about ticking off boxes, it’s about protecting your team, participants, and the community. Whether you’re running a small community initiative or a large-scale project, ensuring you identify and mitigate risks is a crucial step to project planning.

A strong project foundation helps you:

Spot risks before they become major issues
Stay compliant
Set up your team with clear roles and expectations
Keep your project safe, sustainable, and on track

Common challenges

No project runs perfectly. The reality is, challenges will come up, but the good news is that you can plan for them. The best way to stay in control is to recognise these early and put simple steps in place to manage them.

Here are some everyday issues that we have seen impact a project:

Unclear roles

Not knowing who’s doing what can slow things down. Define roles early and make responsibilities clear.

Resource shortages

If you’re missing funding, materials, or people it’s hard to move forward. Anticipate your needs and have a backup plan.

Low engagement

When people lose interest, progress stalls. Keep everyone connected with regular updates and recognition.

Delays

Unexpected approvals, weather, or changes can cause hold-ups. Build extra time into your plan from the start.

Understanding project risks

While some challenges can often be managed with quick fixes, some risks require a deeper level of planning. We’ll look at the five major types of project risks and the best ways to prepare for them.

Risk type	Example	Mitigation
Safety	A participant experiences dehydration during a community walk	Communicating to bring water bottles on walk, and having a few spare in backpack
Operational	Weather affects outdoor fitness sessions	Having a relationship with the local gym to use their hall if it is raining
Financial	A sponsor withdraws funding mid-program	Ensure continued communication with sponsors and have diverse funding streams
Reputational	Complaints from the community about lack of inclusion in your program	Ensure promotional material includes inclusive and clear information about your program
Public health	Illness or outbreaks that reduces attendance at your event	Host program outside, provide hand sanitiser and ask participants not to attend when unwell

The good news: you can prepare for all of these with a simple risk management approach.

Our template below will help you map out your project risks and work through mitigation actions. It uses this simple framework to assess their likelihood and impact, put controls in place, and assign responsibility.

Assess likelihood and impact (Low / Medium / High)
Put controls in place (e.g., procedures, policies, clear protocols)
Assign responsibility – Who oversees managing each risk?
Prioritise high-risk items first

Key safeguarding practices to put in place

Following essential rules and best practices from the start helps things run smoothly, and most importantly protects your team and participants.

Here’s some key factors you should address when safeguarding your project:

Stay compliant

Follow legal, safety, and funding guidelines to keep your project secure and eligible:

Working With Children Checks (if applicable)
Workplace safety procedures
Insurance coverage for your team and events

Communicate clearly

Keep your team and stakeholders informed about roles, decisions, and updates to stay aligned and reduce mixed messages.

Train your team

Make sure your team and volunteers know what’s expected, and how to manage scenarios that may arise, including safety and compliance training.

Keep good records

Track training, certifications, incidents, and key decisions. This supports transparency and accountability.

These aren’t just menial tasks, they’re essential for protecting your team, your participants and your project’s reputation. Setting up good processes from the start makes everything run much more smoothly!

Empowering your team

Now that we’ve covered the essential foundations of safeguarding your project, let’s talk about one of the most important factors in making it all work: your team.

A project is only as strong as the people behind it. Setting your team up for success from the start ensures smoother execution and a more engaged, motivated group.

Here are four simple but powerful ways to empower your team to deliver the best results.

Set clear roles and expectations: A strong team isn’t just about skills, it’s about clarity. Everyone should know their role and responsibilities. If possible, provide written guidelines to avoid confusion later. When people know what’s expected of them, they can focus on doing their best work.

Encourage collaboration: The best projects aren’t built alone. Create an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas, working together, and problem-solving as a group.
Provide ongoing training and support: Giving your team ongoing access to the right knowledge and tools builds their confidence and helps them adapt to any challenges that come up. Whether it’s formal training sessions, quick refreshers, or checklists, small investments in learning can make a big difference.
Check in regularly: Don’t wait until problems arise. Regular check-ins keep communication open, allow you to spot and solve issues early, and make sure your team feels supported. It’s also a great opportunity to celebrate wins, however small.

Safeguarding your project starts now

Good project management is about being proactive, not reactive. Taking early action on risks and requirements helps build a strong, safe, and sustainable project. The work you put in now sets the foundation for a project that thrives in the long run. Use the tool below to map your project risks.

Use this simple risk mapping tool to help you identify and mitigate risks.

Click to download the Risk Mapping worksheet (PDF)