Project Portfolio Management in Public Service Provision: The Case of Bahrain Government

Abstract

Project portfolio management (PPM), as an internationally recognised discipline with well-established standards and guidelines, faces emerging challenges, particularly in public sector organisations adopting digital technologies. This article presents PPM practices in the Kingdom of Bahrain as part of the government’s efforts to achieve its economic Vision 2030. It explores Bahrain’s Public Participation Portfolio (BPPP), which includes three successful initiatives: (1) the National Suggestions and Complaints System (Tawasul), (2) the Government Innovation Competition (Fikra), and (3) the National e-Participation Platform (Sharekna). These cases highlight the benefits of digital stakeholder management in PPM and the effectiveness of a centralised portfolio management office in managing complex interdependent programmes and projects.

1. Introduction

Project portfolios systematically design and develop multiple projects into programmes and subordinate portfolios, with an ongoing lifecycle to achieve organisations’ strategic goals and visions [1,2]. The centralised office responsible for managing portfolios can be called either a centre of excellence or an enterprise portfolio management office (EPMO) [2]. Significant progress has been made in the PPM knowledge area, and many prestigious standards, frameworks, and guidelines, along with dedicated training and certifications, have been widely used across many sectors, as they are well-established by specialised PPM organisations such as the Project Management Institute (PMI), the International Project Management Association, the Association for Project Management, PeopleCert, and the Scaled Agile Framework Studio [3]. Nevertheless, practices particularly case studies are sought from regulators and policy makers, as “public sector portfolio management differs from its private sector counterpart in its aim to increase public value rather than profit or revenue” [4] (P. 951).

Public participation has become a key focus for governments due to the increasing recognition of its benefits and the importance of including them in decision-making processes [5,6,7,8,9]. Additionally, project co-creation is gaining popularity among public sector organisations as a means of solving problems and enhancing services by involving the public and considering them as primary stakeholders [10]. In PPM, public participation is part of stakeholder management [11], which is a broader element of the PMI Standard of Portfolio Management [2]. While practitioners and academics agree on the importance of stakeholder engagement for gaining competitive advantage, as cited in [12], Ackermann and Eden pointed out that “there is considerable room for further development of stakeholder theories through the cycles of theory into practice and practice into theory” [13] (P. 194). Derakhshan, Turner, and Mancini reviewed 87 well-established studies and emphasised the importance of exploring new research directions to enrich the project management literature with a more stakeholder-inclusive approach. They also pointed out that although stakeholders are vital within organisations, current project management literature does not offer a comprehensive framework for understanding the roles, relationships, and positions of both internal and external stakeholders in project governance [14].

Digital tools are highlighted as a crucial element in the PMI portfolio management standard, serving as key resources in the field of PPM [2]. Moreover, digital transformation (DT) has the potential to improve stakeholder engagement in project management [15]. DT plays a role in reducing complexity in multi-stakeholder environments, thereby boosting decision-making and overall stakeholder participation [16,17]. Additionally, evidence shows that DT helps optimise operations and enhances public service delivery [18]. While social media has been recognised for engaging stakeholders, there remains a need for dedicated, user-friendly digital platforms designed to support public participation [18,19]. Another perspective indicates that DT can foster efficient stakeholder engagement by offering integrated, collaborative, and centralised platforms that enhance transparency and teamwork; however, human oversight is still considered crucial to avoid technological misinterpretation [17]. Alvarenga et al. emphasised that DT has become an essential need for governments worldwide, as it can deepen public participation and promote economic growth; their systematic review suggests that future research should focus on “case studies in public organisations that have a high impact on the improvement of public services” [20] (P. 21).

2. Overview

This section provides the reader with an overview of the intended case narrative for this practical application; the article will present a demonstration of how the central government of the Kingdom of Bahrain embraced DT in public service provision, applied PPM knowledge to deliver the EPMO empowered by the Prime Minister’s Office, and actively engaged its stakeholders through a public participation portfolio that includes three projects: (1) Tawasul, (2) Fikra, and (3) Sharekna. The projects were carefully chosen for this article, because they all demonstrate effective use of DT and are overseen by the government EPMO. Moreover, they follow the principle of effectively engaging stakeholders, as outlined in the project management standard [1]. Additionally, all of them make continuous contributions to the quality control of government services, as well as ongoing influence on the initiation and optimisation phases of the government PPM lifecycle [2].

2.1. Contextual Background

To understand the initiatives implemented by the government of Bahrain, it is important to explore the context in which these projects were developed. This section will provide the reader with information about Bahrain and its 2030 vision.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which brings together six countries, including the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. According to 2024 Bahrain government statistics, the total population in Bahrain is 1,588,670. Specifically, Bahrainis number 739,736, which is 46.6% of the total population, while non-Bahrainis number 848,934, reaching 53.4% of the total population [21].

The United Nations (UN) described Bahrain as a global digital development leader, well-established digitally through its inclusive and innovative methods by implementing agile processes and advanced technologies, fostering a vibrant digital ecosystem with enhanced digital infrastructure [22]. The UN issued its 2024 e-Government survey, which ranked Bahrain 10th globally in the Telecommunications Infrastructure Index, due to its telecom liberalisation, along with enhanced broadband and fibre internet services; 18th globally and 6th in Asia among countries leading e-Government development with a very high rating in the e-Participation Index; and 23rd globally in the Online Service Index, as a result of the government’s efforts regarding advancing its technological infrastructure and hosting a unified digital platform for comprehensive government e-Services and overall DT [22]. These highly ranked official positions demonstrate that Bahrain has a significant impact on improving public services, making its practical experience appealing and worthy of case study research.

Bahrain’s government clearly articulated its future development plans in the strategic economic vision 2030, shaped through collaborative efforts across all sectors [23]. The core message of this vision is to transform Bahrain’s economy from oil dependence to a socially diverse, productive, and competitive global economy by fostering innovation, encouraging productivity, and uniting people through shared growth goals [23].

The success of the vision relies on both society and government embracing the three guiding principles of sustainability, competitiveness, and fairness to ensure that every Bahraini has the means to live a secure and fulfilling life and to reach their full potential. Nevertheless, the vision also addressed sustainable development goals and clearly described the aspirations of Bahrain’s future under three domains: the economy, government, and society, which makes the 2030 vision a comprehensive reference that guides the process of improving the government services, shaping its future policies and initiating innovative development projects [23].

After announcing the economic vision 2030 and making it visible to all citizens and investors, the Government of Bahrain conducted many innovative initiatives and utilised DT to improve PPM. This includes, but it is not limited to, democratically engaging the public as stakeholders in the project portfolio management lifecycle by opening direct channels for hearing their aspirations, valuing their suggestions, and solving their complaints to improve current government services and receive their innovative future project ideas, which set an outstanding example of stakeholder engagement throughout the decision-making process, the quality control, and the portfolio value realisation.

2.2. Problem Identification and Applied Solution

After establishing the contextual background, this section addresses the specific problem in Bahrain’s public sector. Recognising these issues highlights the significance of the implemented solution.

The problem was identified by analysing how to achieve Section 2.2 of Bahrain’s 2030 vision: “the public sector becomes more productive and is accountable for delivering better-quality services via leaner organisations and operations” [23] (P. 17). To be more specific, there are numerous government services provided to the public, which are very challenging to monitor and control, difficult to ensure quality, challenging to reach customer satisfaction, and hard to realise overall government portfolio value.

In this case, encouraging the public to be part of the decision-making process in PPM and having an effective internal and external stakeholders’ engagement mechanism were necessary to solve the problem. Nonetheless, it was essential to have constant, sustainable, and systematic public participation initiatives to help bridge the gap between the government service providers and the public and to foster a culture of accountability and appreciation among them. This opens the main research question of how to enhance stakeholders’ participation and manage them effectively?

The government of Bahrain found that applying advanced PPM, embracing digitalisation, and encouraging public participation are the keys to solving the issues mentioned above. In fact, the main narrative of Bahrain Vision 2030 focuses on being a “vision that unites people and voices their consensus on the direction in which they wish to grow” [23] (P. 10), and stresses that achieving the vision can only happen through coordinated participation and collective efforts to overcome the challenges [23]. Furthermore, hearing the public voice and valuing their input as end users and key stakeholders for government services holds great potential in solving the issue, serving as a direct measure to turn Section 2.2 aspiration of Vision 2030 into reality. To accomplish this, it was crucial to utilise DT for government services and to empower the public by engaging them in an inclusive decision-making process within the government PPM lifecycle.

This motivated the launch of many initiatives that utilised DT to transparently involve the public as stakeholders in government decision-making. These initiatives created direct channels for listening to public aspirations, addressing their complaints, and valuing their suggestions to enhance existing services or develop new projects based on their innovative ideas. Those initiatives fall under BPPP and are operated by government entities, with technical support from the Information and e-Government Authority (IGA) and professional PPM support by the EPMO within the Prime Minister’s Office.

2.3. The Support of the IGA and the EPMO

This subsection will provide the readers with an overview of Bahrain’s EPMO and IGA, which are key contributors that collaborate to play a significant role in supporting the overall success of BPPP across government entities, which include all ministries and other government authorities and organisations.

2.3.1. Technical Support Through the IGA

The IGA leads digital transformation efforts in Bahrain. It develops and enforces digital strategies for government services and suggests legislation, policies, and standards. The IGA collaborates with other government bodies to improve services and national systems. Its focus includes advancing digital infrastructure, shifting Bahrain to cloud computing, managing government networks, and overseeing IT governance in the public sector.

The IGA oversees three main areas: (1) DT, (2) operations and governance, and (3) statistics and population registry. Its aim is to position the Kingdom of Bahrain as a leader in delivering integrated, smart government services that are accessible, secure, and user-friendly. To reach this goal, it has committed to developing an effective e-Government system that improves the quality of life, attracts investment, and promotes sustainable development.

The DT line focuses on creating mechanisms for delivering public services to the government using business process re-engineering and change management methodologies and leveraging major advances in information systems. The scope of DT processes for government entities extends beyond traditional boundaries; the IGA collaborates with the private sector and civil society to implement electronic initiatives. These initiatives aim to provide integrated public services that cater to the needs of users across all sectors.

2.3.2. PPM Support Through the EPMO

To deliver top-quality results from government investments and ensure success across various government portfolios, programmes, and projects, a centralised PPM team of highly educated young professionals was formed within the Prime Minister’s Office. This team supports government entities in executing their critical projects and monitoring their progress. Empowered by the Prime Minister’s Office, the team offer diverse PPM support to all government entities. The team utilises Microsoft tools to provide standardised, high-quality templates featuring clear project plans with smart icons and easy-to-fill tables. They also offer templates for scheduling and financial management. Additionally, the team compiles key projects into a dashboard-style summary for better visualisation. Over time, the templates were enhanced by adopting DT and implementing follow-up software that connects internal stakeholders with the central team. This in-house software, designed to support PPM activities, links project managers with portfolio managers and senior officials.

After demonstrating successful engagement with both internal and external stakeholders, the centralised team evolved to become an official EPMO. On 11 September 2022, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain, issued the Royal Decree number 50 of 2022 for restructuring the Office of the Prime Minister, establishing four project directorates overseen by the Assistant Undersecretary for Projects, managed by the Undersecretary of Research and Projects, who is governed by the Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office. This position reports directly to His Royal Highness (HRH) the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain [24,25]. These restructuring instructions reflect the maturity of the Kingdom of Bahrain in adopting PPM practices systematically to achieve its 2030 vision.

2.3.3. Collaboration Between the IGA and the EPMO

The collaboration between the IGA and the EPMO is a cornerstone of the government’s digital transformation strategy, ensuring robust governance and the successful implementation of key initiatives. A critical aspect of this partnership involves the IGA providing regular, data-driven reports to the EPMO on the performance of key government systems, such as Tawasul. These reports meticulously track government entities’ compliance with established key performance indicators and service level agreements (SLAs), which provides the EPMO with the necessary data to uphold governance standards and ensure accountability.

Furthermore, the IGA and the EPMO work in concert to define the strategic digital transformation plans for government entities. This collaboration extends to a range of critical projects, including the re-engineering of government services and the digital transformation of transactions. While the IGA contributes its technical expertise and data-driven insights, the EPMO works closely with the individual government entities to oversee the implementation of these plans, ensuring that projects are executed efficiently and adhere to predefined timelines. Together, they are committed to maintaining the highest quality of electronic services delivered through various channels and ensuring the seamless execution of all project implementation processes, ultimately driving the nation’s digital progress forward.

Figure 1 below illustrates how the three BPPP initiatives link the public with government entities. It outlines the actions that can be taken from each perspective and highlights the supporting roles of the EPMO and the IGA when it comes to government entities.

3. Practical Application

This section will demonstrate the three public participation initiatives within BPPP.

3.1. The National Suggestions and Complaints System (Tawasul)

3.1.1. A Pioneering Digital Bridge to Connect the Public with the Government

In 2017, the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain launched the National Suggestions and Complaints System, known in Arabic as Tawasul, which literally means communication. This groundbreaking unified platform utilises DT to directly connect and bridge citizens and residents with 59 governmental entities. In line with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s 2030 vision, Tawasul seeks to make the public voice heard and encourages them to contribute to shaping a brighter future for the entire community.

3.1.2. System Design and Process

Tawasul is designed to revolutionise stakeholder engagement by enhancing public communication and empowering individuals through active participation in decision-making processes within the Kingdom of Bahrain’s PPM. To ensure transparency and avoid redundancy, Tawasul utilises the electronic key (eKey), which is a unique key linked to each citizen’s or resident’s national identification number (ID). It also allows individuals and corporate entities to create profiles, which are subject to being linked to a citizen’s or resident’s national ID, a visitor’s passport number, or a corporate registration number for a private organisation, thereby expanding its availability and participation capabilities. Through Tawasul, users can:

• Submit enquiries and complaints related to any service matter to receive a direct response from the appropriate government entity within a specified timeframe, based on case category and SLAs performance indicators.
• Express appreciation and gratitude to acknowledge exceptional service from a government entity or employee, fostering ongoing improvement of customer experience.
• Share their valuable suggestions and opinions, as they are essential for starting new projects, developing effective policies, and enhancing the quality of government services provided to the community.

Each government entity has a dedicated, trained team committed to providing swift responses and feedback in Tawasul to ensure that the cases are addressed transparently within a pre-set timeframe. This streamlined process not only enhances stakeholders’ satisfaction but also provides the government with valuable information from the public to enable informed decisions. Nevertheless, the system is monitored by the government’s centralised PPM team, making it an effective digital platform that contributes to quality control, value realisation, optimisation, and even initiation within the Kingdom of Bahrain PPM.

3.1.3. Ensuring Availability and User-Friendliness

To ensure that Tawasul reaches the public in a convenient and user-friendly way, it is accessible through a website (see Appendix A.1) and a dedicated mobile application (see Appendix A.2) available on both iOS and Android devices. The Tawasul app utilises DT and mobile technology to provide a smart, quick, simple, and convenient method for users to connect directly with relevant ministries and government agencies. Its features include: (1) Fix2go, which uses GPS to allow users to report issues with public facilities or services immediately by selecting the Fix2go icon and capturing a photo within 30 s; (2) push notifications, which keep users informed about the status of cases submitted through the Tawasul system or app and provide important updates on government announcements and initiatives directly; (3) and user-friendly interface, a modern design and user interface that ensures efficiency and ease of access.

3.1.4. Tawasul Customer Service Excellence Award

Instead of rigorously monitoring and controlling government entities, this award was introduced to foster competition among them and create a culture of appreciation and accountability. It is presented by HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to the top-performing government entities. The award aims to encourage government bodies and their employees to improve the overall quality of government services and enhance public experience through effective communication with customers and swift problem-solving. It promotes competitiveness among government entities to respond effectively to the public and achieve the highest standards of service for the community.

The annual award promotes excellence and innovation in delivering government services and aims to strengthen trust between the government and the public. The award’s criteria consist of a set of conditions and requirements that must be satisfied through customer interactions within a year, including:

• Responding within the allocated timeframe.
• Achieving a high percentage of customer satisfaction through the replies.
• Low percentage of cases reopened three times.
• Low percentage of cases closed forcibly by the entity.

3.2. The Government Innovation Competition (Fikra)

3.2.1. Innovative Engagement of Public Sector Employees

Fikra means idea in Arabic. It is an annual government competition launched in 2018 to encourage innovation and creativity among public sector employees by providing a transparent channel for proposing project ideas that improve government performance. It also aligns with Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030.

3.2.2. Transparent Submission Criteria and Review Process

All government employees are eligible to apply either individually or as part of a team comprising up to four members. Participants should clearly demonstrate their goal of enhancing government performance or improving government services.

The review process involves several committees and is subsequently evaluated by a high-level ministerial body. Additionally, it allows the public to vote for their preferred projects to be implemented by relevant government agencies.

3.2.3. Award Phases—From Idea to Initiation

Remarkably, the award opening begins with an invitation letter sent via email directly from HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince (see Appendix B.1), Deputy Supreme Commander, and Prime Minister. This direct invitation to all government employees gives award a prestigious start that highlights its significance and showcases the commitment of top leadership in engaging the government staff. Also, awards are promoted through various methods using official government media channels, as well as social media platforms. The award timeline stages (see Appendix B.2) consist of:

• Receiving proposals: all submissions to be received electronically.
• Evaluation: the initial review of the proposals by the evaluation committees.
• Training: providing intensive training on pitching ideas and presentation skills to shortlisted candidates, helping them to effectively showcase their ideas.
• Presentation: projects will be presented to a high-level ministerial committee with media coverage, and as a result, the panel of government officials will shortlist the candidates by choosing 12 proposals.
• Coordination and approval: getting the final approvals through coordination with the relevant government authorities.
• Voting and selection: the 12 shortlisted finalists will prepare idea pitch videos and publish them via the official social media channels to be ready for public vote for the top idea proposal on the Fikra webpage. On the other hand, the ministerial committee will select the second and third most successful ideas
• Initiating and implementing the winning proposed projects: the initiation phase of the projects will start immediately after announcing the three winning ideas on the national TV, newspapers, the official webpage, and social media.

3.3. The National e-Participation Platform (Sharekna)

3.3.1. A Platform That Values the Public Input

In Arabic, Sharekna means ‘join us,’ and, from its name, this initiative recognises the importance of facilitating communication between the government and the public. The initiative aims to encourage citizens to share their views, ideas, and suggestions to improve government services and benefit policies. Aligned with Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030, Sharekna helps enable collaboration between public and government entities to support the development of the Kingdom of Bahrain and its services.

3.3.2. One Platform with Multiple Participation Channels

The platform aims to include all members of the public and encourages them to contribute to national development and growth. It features numerous channels for public participation and consolidates BPPP initiatives into a single platform. Sharekna utilises the eKey linked to each citizen’s or resident’s ID to ensure transparency and prevent redundancy in participation. The platform provides reliable, simple, and accessible ways for people to participate by sharing suggestions and views to improve public services, including:

• Finding information: serving as a hub of information on how to participate in improving government services and policies, exploring the national participation initiatives, and viewing the results of past participations along with their impacts.
• Public consultation: a channel for the public to share their contributions by offering ideas and knowledge within specific domains, providing a space to share thoughts and opinions on topics that matter to the public and positively influence the future of the Kingdom (see Appendix C.1).
• Joining the legislating lab: offering individuals and corporations the opportunity to submit legislative proposals and ideas for consideration by relevant government bodies for future implementation. The Legislating Lab project was a winning entry in the fifth edition of the Government Innovation Competition (Fikra), demonstrating the government’s commitment to turning innovative ideas into action (see Appendix C.2).
• Voting on topics: enabling the public to express their views on important issues through transparent and trustworthy electronic polls (Appendix C.3).
• Participating in hackathons: collaborating on solving diverse challenges by developing innovative solutions; this enables individuals and teams to share their technical expertise and support Bahrain’s DT initiatives (Appendix C.4).

3.4. Summary

This section summarises the three initiatives within the BPPP, emphasising how DT was essential in supporting, shaping, and leading their development and execution, illustrating the link between strategic innovation and technological progress.

Table 1. Summary of BPPP initiatives using the 5W1H method.

5W1H\Initiatives	Tawasul	Fikra	Sharekna
What is this Initiative?	A unified system connecting the public with government entities to make the public voice heard through the submission of complaints, suggestions, or appreciations. It aims to bridge the gap between service-providing entities and the public.	A competition aims to include government employees in the decision-making process by opening a transparent channel to propose innovative and creative project ideas, as well as give the public the opportunity to vote for their favourite one.	A national platform facilitating the communication between the government and the public to enable transparent interactions and collaborations.
Why is DT important for this initiative?	DT solves the issues associated with the classic pen and paper method of submitting enquiries, complaints, and suggestions, which requires a very long time and is difficult to follow up, monitor, and control.	DT provides fast and consistent way of submitting proposals. Also, voting electronically offers a transparent and democratic way for the public to vote for their favourite project.	DT made it possible to bring together the government’s public participation efforts on one platform.
Who are the target audience and main stakeholders?	Target audience: the public. Service providers: dedicated teams from government entities. PPM support: the EPMO. Technical support: the IGA.	Target audience: government employees as participants and the public as voters. Ministerial committee: government entities. PPM support: the EPMO. Project implementation: government entities. Technical support: the IGA.	Target audience: the public. Service providers: government entities. PPM support: the EPMO. Technical support: the IGA.
When was it developed and launched?	Website launched in 2014. Mobile application launched in 2016.	First edition 2018. Second edition 2019. Third edition 2020. Fourth edition 2021. Fifth edition 2022. Sixth edition 2024. Seventh edition 2025.	Voting polls since 2008. Hackathons from 2017. Legal lab idea in 2023. Online consultations in 2025.
Where is it available?	Web page: https://services.bahrain.bh/wps/portal/tawasul/Home_en (accessed on 10 December 2025) App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fix2go/id859082997 (accessed on 10 December 2025) Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ega.fix2go (accessed on 10 December 2025)	Opened annually by the Prime Minister’s Office; it utilises technology for submitting applications and voting electronically via its official web page: https://pmo.gov.bh/en/category/Fikra (accessed on 10 December 2025)	Web-based information hub as an official channel for e-participations: https://services.bahrain.bh/wps/portal/sharekna/en (accessed on 10 December 2025)
How did DT make it accessible?	By utilising the eKey, which is linked with each citizen’s or resident’ss national ID to ensure transparency and avoid redundancy. Also, it allowed profile creation to expand its capacity to private companies and organisations in Bahrain, as well as users who do not have an eKey (subject to linking the profile with a national ID, a passport number, or a corporate registration number).	It starts with an invitation email sent directly from HRH the Crown Prince to all public sector employees. Also, the invitation letter is shared via social media and the Fikra webpage. Then, all proposal submissions and voting take place electronically through its official webpage.	By utilising the eKey, which is linked to each citizen’s or resident’s national ID, the system helps ensure transparency and avoid redundancy in the public consultation. Also, allowing the direct usage for all other types of participation.

below employs the 5W1H method, inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s Six Honest Serving-Men. This method helps comprehensively examine events, problems, or phenomena by collecting information and conducting critical analysis. It is centred on six key questions: What, Who, When, Where, Why, and How [26].

Below is a summary of the statistical results obtained from the BPPP initiatives:

• Tawasul successfully reached its target audience, collecting a total of 979,796 submissions, including 37,514 suggestions from the public, which is notably high given the population size of 1,588,670. There were 59 government entities involved in the initiatives, with an impressive 98% response rate within the SLAs. Furthermore, Tawasul was honoured with the Arab Government Excellence Award 2020 for the Best Smart Arab Government Application category and received the Kuwait Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Informatics Award 2019 in the Best Technology Projects category.
• Fikra had seven successful editions with strong competition among the contestants, and the public actively participated in voting for their favourite project ideas. There were many innovative project ideas from various disciplines.
• Sharekna successfully unified public participation channels on a single platform. It hosted 39 voting polls, with actions taken for each. There were 24 interactive blogs providing live insights and communication with the public. Additionally, 25 hackathons were completed, with more scheduled. Currently, public consultations are open on specific topics, and the legal lab remains active. Sharekna also received the GCC Digital Government Award 2025 for Best Practice in Community e-Participation.

4. Conclusions

This study showcased the practical application of PPM knowledge in Bahrain’s public sector. It provides valuable insights into how the Bahraini government employed PPM concepts and DT to engage the public in fulfilling its 2030 vision.

The BPPP successfully enhanced stakeholder participation, promoted a culture of appreciation, and strengthened the sense of accountability among government employees. Additionally, it encouraged government entities to become leaner by embracing DT and reducing long-standing traditional processes, thereby improving the customer experience and increasing the overall quality of government services. Through effective collaboration with the public, the government launched innovative projects aligned with the strategic vision 2030. Nonetheless, public opinions and suggestions contributed to policy and process adjustments, which enhanced the quality of government services and improved the overall customer experience. Furthermore, the use of digital tools facilitated rapid communication between the public and service providers, while the EPMO offered robust support, follow-up, monitoring, and control mechanisms.

Besides bridging a geographical gap, we hope that this study contributes fully or partially to other knowledge gaps, such as Alvarenga et al.’s recommendation for future research involving case studies on DT in public organisations that have notably improved public services [21]. Additionally, from a theoretical perspective, this paper can support the advancement of stakeholder theories by using its practical insights to refine the theory [13]. Nevertheless, its findings can be linked to missing research areas highlighted by Derakhshan, Turner, and Mancini, as this article reflected the positive role of the public as decisions makers, explored non-monetary aspects of relationships with public owners, and offered insights into how stakeholders relationships can be effectively maintained by digital tools such as Tawasul and Sharekna or by innovative competitions like Fikra [14]. This paper aimed to improve understanding by highlighting how things function in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Many lessons were learned from observing the BPPP initiatives. Remarkably, four theoretical insights are generated via this digit-enabled practical PPM application:

• The EPMO: multiple studies indicate that centralised PMOs can enhance PPM success by improving coordination, standardisation, and strategic alignment [27,28,29]. This was in line with our observations of the Bahrain EPMO, which not only provided strategic alignment guidance and support to government entities but also fostered public trust through its ongoing coordination and follow-up.
• DT in PPM: we observed that digital tools played a crucial role in connecting the public with government entities. DT provided convenient and trusted constantly updated channels for engagement, enabling quick communication among stakeholders. Therefore, we confirm that the use of DT enhanced stakeholder engagement and positively affected the overall PPM lifecycle, aligning with several well-established studies [16,17,18,19,20,21].
• Leadership: HRH’s letter to all government employees inspired and motivated them to contribute innovative ideas to join Fikra, reflecting transformational leadership principles [30] and illustrating the positive impact of emotional intelligence in leadership [31]. Moreover, consistent with situational leadership theory [30], we found that switching leadership style according to the situation is crucial, as most of the leaders of government entities shifted from a task-oriented transactional approach to a people-centred transformational style to support their teams in embracing innovation and managing change successfully [30,32].
• System of Systems: in line with widely documented theories, it has been noted that implementing systems of systems is essential in today’s rapidly changing and complex environments. However, it is important to adapt a balanced approach in terms of the flexibility of autonomy, belonging, connectivity, diversity, and emergence characteristics of system of systems [33,34,35].

Limitations and Further Research

Although the study makes a relevant contribution to stakeholder management and public participation in PPM and emphasises the importance of digitalisation, it has certain limitations due to its practical focus. These include a limited theoretical foundation and a reliance on observing high-level outcomes of BPPP initiatives without analysing effective participation rates, user satisfaction, or addressing implementation challenges. Furthermore, the paper omits a comparative analysis of cost–benefit, user activity, and service efficiency improvements. It also does not include specific time-series data demonstrating the long-term impacts of the BPPP initiatives. The following future research directions are suggested to tackle the following issues:

• Perform a systematic literature review on stakeholder engagement and management in PPM to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework for future empirical research.
• Conduct comprehensive empirical research on the three BPPP initiatives, including detailed quantitative data for each initiative’s effect on PPM lifecycle, public service quality, efficiency improvements, and cost savings. In addition, qualitative research could examine implementation challenges such as stakeholder resistance to change, coordination difficulties among actors, resource constraints, governance misalignments, and institutional or cultural barriers. Addressing these factors would deepen understanding of how BPPP initiatives operate in practice, enhance their applicability, and provide further insight into how this innovative approach engages stakeholders more effectively or uniquely.
• Analyse and compare PPM practices in other GCC countries or different nations to validate the distinctiveness and commonalities of Bahrain’s model.
• Further validate the concept through testing and evaluation in either different business or geographical contexts.