Search Results (9)

This article analyses how capacity building programmes interact with structural constraints in mission-oriented climate policy, focusing on the Italian pilot Let’sGOv (GOverning the Transition through Pilot Actions) within the EU Mission “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030”. Using an iterative, reflexive methodology (document analysis, direct observation, and qualitative analysis of questionnaires, workshop outputs, and online training feedback), it examines how municipal actors experience and reinterpret capacity building across three coupled dimensions: internal organisational capacity, external stakeholder relations, and multilevel governance interfaces. The empirical setting is a network of nine Italian Mission Cities (Bergamo, Bologna, Florence, Milan, Padua, Parma, Prato, Rome, Turin) supported by technical partners. The bench-learning pathway combined barrier diagnosis, an intensive in-person workshop, and a codesigned online curriculum structured around three thematic clusters (engagement, data, climate finance). Findings indicate that persistent barriers—departmental silos, resource and time scarcity, rigid human resources and procurement routines, asymmetric data access, and regulatory instability—are not removed by capacity building; rather, they are progressively articulated, specified, and reframed into actionable organisational and policy demands. Bench-learning strengthens diagnostic and relational capacities and enables modest institutional innovations (templates, protocols, internal task forces, shared policy briefs), while “hard” governance infrastructures largely remain unchanged. The paper argues that networked capacity building contributes to the emergence of nascent, project-dependent multilevel interfaces only when it supports collective negotiation with national actors and translates local experimentation into durable multilevel interfaces, mitigating risks of projectification and downward responsibility shifting. Full article

Securing the acceptance of nature-based solutions (NbS) in urban greening is central for addressing current social, environmental, and climate-related challenges. To achieve this, participatory planning processes are increasingly encouraged in NbS projects. However, challenges often arise, as NbS and public participation are not always seamlessly compatible. Based on a cross-case, qualitative content analysis of project organizers’ experiences in seven urban NbS planning projects in Northern Europe, we unpack three social tensions that can limit the role of participatory NbS: (1) tensions between the openness or “closedness” of environmental and participatory objectives; (2) tensions between the increasing time demands for participatory NbS processes and limitations for largely project-based NbS delivery; and (3) tensions between the roles of expert and lay knowledge. We illustrate these tensions through our cases, showing the challenges that they create for project organizers, both in terms of implementing NbS projects, as well as the risks that they have for broader NbS and participatory goals. We use the experiences and learnings from our cases to suggest paths that can help planners balance these tensions and potentially lead to more inclusive and transformative NbS planning models. Full article

As organizations become increasingly projectified, safeguarding the resilience of project professionals and teams emerges as a critical organizational challenge. Adopting a systems lens, we investigate how agile mindsets and agile practices function as systemic antecedents of resilience at the individual and team levels. Eleven semi-structured interviews with experienced project managers, product owners, and team members from diverse industries were analyzed through inductive thematic coding and system mapping. The findings show that mindset supplies psychological resources—self-efficacy, openness and a learning orientation—while practices such as team autonomy, iterative delivery and transparent communication provide structural routines; together they trigger five interlocking mechanisms: empowerment, fast responsiveness, holistic team dynamics, stakeholder-ecosystem engagement and continuous learning. These mechanisms reinforce one another in feedback loops that boost a project system’s adaptive capacity under volatility. The synergy of mindset and practices is especially valuable in hybrid or traditionally governed projects, where cognitive agility offsets structural rigidity. This study offers the first multi-level, systems-based explanation of agile antecedents of resilience and delivers actionable levers for executives, transformation leaders, project professionals, and HR specialists aiming to sustain talent performance in turbulent contexts. Full article

Given the complex and dispersed nature of construction projects, which demand collaboration among varied experts, it is crucial to reevaluate project management and execution approaches to enhance their performance. Agile principles offer a path towards heightened responsiveness within tasks and processes, addressing the construction industry’s fast-paced nature and growing client demands for timely project completion. However, adopting new management methodologies, such as Agile, needs a significant cultural shift, enabling the cultivation of multi-skilled and self-managing teams. Projectification, a growing trend in contemporary society where more activities are managed as projects, has gained significant relevance in recent years. This study examines the application of Agile project management (specifically Agile Scrum methodology) during the pre-construction phase of a construction project through the lens of Projectification. As evidenced by the research results, applying the Agile methodology in the pre-construction phase may help enhance flexibility and collaboration, enabling teams to adapt quickly to evolving project requirements and unforeseen challenges. The findings demonstrate that Agile methodologies offer numerous benefits, including enhanced adaptability, flexibility, accountability, transparency, and teamwork. Additionally, there were significant reductions in time and costs, emphasizing the value of Agile practices in construction project management. Full article

The extent to which projects are established as an organizational form in society to cope with various challenges has been analyzed extensively in research under the term ‘projectification’. However, it remains unclear how the projectification at the level of society begins and which actors are involved in its institutionalization. Drawing on an explanatory case study in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, responses are provided to these questions and propositions for further research. The country is undertaking reforms as part of its ongoing transformation, which includes the professional implementation of projects, particularly in the public sector. These activities are, to some extent, based on the developments in project management in neighboring Kazakhstan, where a presidential decree also constituted a first step towards the institutionalization of projectification. It later found its way into relevant sectors and to key actors via the presidential administration, primarily through regulative and normative institutions. Because of increased international cooperation, the number and importance of projects in Kyrgyzstan will continue to increase in the coming years, requiring greater emphasis on projectification. The results are informative for research into projectification and for those involved in countries with comparable situations. Full article

While the projectification of society continues to evolve, it is clearly lagging behind in the public construction sector in Germany. The purpose of the research upon which this article is based was to reveal the role that leadership has on the projectification of the construction sector and to identify the differences between the public and private sectors. Building on the theoretical concept of Institutional Work, semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted on both sides of the construction sector in Germany to ultimately reconcile the findings. The interview’s transcripts were analyzed by applying qualitative content analysis. The responses from the private sector show a very high significance of projects for everyday work and a further trend toward projectification in enterprises. This development is attributable to a positive image of executing projects in the private sector and to the leadership provided. In contrast, projects in the public sector still play a rather subordinate role and tend to be perceived culturally and cognitively as being exceptional. As projects are increasingly important for the public sector, leaders can play a key role in nurturing the necessary cultural and cognitive conditions for projectification. The application of Institutional Work concepts opens promising perspectives for future research in the context of projectification. Full article

Projectification is the phenomenon whereby activities traditionally carried out in a functional manner are approached as projects. It also includes the transformation processes of organisations as project management and non-functional structures. It is a phenomenon that has become important in recent years. It has brought great benefits to organisations and public administration, and it has optimised the use of economic resources. On the other hand, projectification also brings undesirable effects, known as the dark side of projectification. Several years after the first time projectification was coined, a deep debate about projectification has been necessary to make the most of all possible levels. This research, through a bibliometric analysis and a review of the most outstanding literature, identifies those aspects that need to be discussed and where there is room for improvement. The results, with an important set of disadvantages of projectification, sometimes not taken into account, especially at the individual level, establish a solid basis for the debate on projectification and the possible points of improvement from all perspectives (individual, organisational and societal). These perspectives should be observed as different but complementary, forming a holistic understanding of projectification. Full article

The “projectification” of Western societies has been consolidated by a number of studies and now calls for various adaptations in the managerial framework of project management. Faster rates of change in complex environments antagonize the traditional risk assessment approach and demand a more dynamic approach. A framework commonly used for understanding the challenges of complexity in the modern business environment is VUCA. VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. In order to mitigate the impact of a VUCA environment on complex projects, organizations and project leaders need to know the type and severity of challenges they are dealing with in each unique project. This study explores the VUCA framework in the context of projects and suggests that the VUCA approach can enhance the conventional risk assessment procedure. The study also drafts an accessible diagnostic tool to assess the VUCA dimensions a project is facing, so that project managers can effectively isolate “fat tail” risk events. The tool is tested on five complex projects in the manufacturing industry and its effectiveness is discussed. Full article

Drawing on a survey of large-scale ecological restoration initiatives, we find that managers face contradictory demands. On the one hand, they have to raise funds from a variety of sources through competitive procedures for individual projects. These projects require the specification of deliverable outputs within a relatively short project period. On the other hand, ecologists argue that the complexity of ecosystem processes means that it is not possible to know how to deliver predetermined outcomes and that governance should be adaptive, long-term and implemented through networks of stakeholders. This debate parallels a debate in public administration between New Public Management and more recent proposals for a new approach, sometimes termed Public Value Management. Both of these approaches have strengths. Projectification provides control and accountability to funders. Adaptive governance recognises complexity and provides for long-term learning, building networks and adaptive responses. We suggest an institutional architecture that aims to capture the major benefits of each approach based on public support dedicated to ecological restoration and long-term funding programmes. Full article