Panel Discussion: Making Every Euro Count: Balancing R&D, Manufacturing, and Digital Investments in Complex Portfolios

Every project manager knows the pressure of trying to deliver more with fewer resources. Budgets are stretched across clinical programs, manufacturing expansions, and digital initiatives - and project leaders are often the ones who must highlight trade-offs, flag risks, and keep execution on track. In this interactive panel, senior project and portfolio managers will share how they tackle tough allocation decisions, forecast resource needs, and keep stakeholders aligned when competing priorities threaten to derail portfolios. Discussion Points:

• Ranking projects under pressure: How project managers contribute to scoring models (ROI, risk-adjusted value, strategic fit) to help leadership decide what gets funded.

• Forecasting in practice: Tools and methods managers actually use to map team capacity, budget burn, and resource bottlenecks across portfolios.

• Budget shifts mid-cycle: Real experiences of reallocating funds or people mid-year - how to adjust without breaking critical timelines.

• Working with CROs/CDMOs/IT vendors: What project managers have learned about balancing internal vs. external resources when money is tight.

• Managing conflicts across functions: Practical tactics for mediating when R&D, manufacturing, and digital all compete for the same funding.

• Communicating trade-offs clearly: How PPMs frame tough decisions to executives - using data, dashboards, and storytelling to secure buy-in.