A sponsor in a quality improvement project provides high-level support, ensuring the team has the resources and authority to succeed.

Option A (Perform data analysis to identify gaps or opportunities): Data analysis is typically the team’s responsibility, not the sponsor’s.

Option B (Influence peers to adopt proposed changes): While sponsors may advocate, this is secondary to their primary role of resource allocation.

Option C (Demonstrate the ideal process to the staff): Demonstrating processes is a team or leader task, not the sponsor’s role.

Option D (Allocate resources to support the team’s work): This is the correct answer. The NAHQ CPHQ study guide states, “The sponsor’s primary role is to allocate resources (e.g., staff, budget, time) and remove barriers to support the quality improvement team’s work” (Domain 3). Discussing this ensures the CMO understands their role.

CPHQ Objective Reference: Domain 3: Organizational Leadership, Objective 3.1, “Define roles for quality improvement teams,” includes the sponsor’s resource allocation role. The NAHQ study guide notes, “Sponsors ensure teams have the necessary support to achieve goals” (Domain 3).

Rationale: Resource allocation is the sponsor’s core responsibility, making it the key task to discuss, as per CPHQ’s leadership principles.