Basically, a sponsor is someone having the authority and budget to authorize funds against the costs of doing project work. Lets face facts - if there is no one willing to pay for doing a project, it just doesn’t get done! Project sponsors take on such responsibility by formally signing a letter of sponsorship, known as the Sponsor Formalization Letter (SFL). The SPMO will prepare the SFL and obtain both written commitment of funding (at this point, funding only to investigate, not for the entire project) and approval to proceed on the project from the sponsor. The Sponsor is the focal point for project decisions that are beyond the project manager’s scope, as well as acting as the project representative to upper management. Sponsors agree to review and approve all SEP deliverables (as appropriate) in addition to approving all phase transitions.