Advances in Project Management Series
SERIES ARTICLE
By Dr. Alexia Nalewaik, FRICS CCP CCA
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA USA
When my worlds collide, writing ensues. In this instance, I was teaching two graduate-level courses: Cost-Benefit Analysis (at American University) and Project Management Finance / Engineering Economics (at George Washington University). One night, while trying to reverse-engineer a student’s maths solution, I noticed the two programs treated the same topic, and sometimes even the same equations, very differently.
But first, let’s step back to a few years prior. I was working at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, developing a lifecycle cost estimate for the Next-Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA), along with funding proposals for elements of that project and others. One day, I found myself at Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia (USA), inside the National Radio Quiet Zone (and therefore without my mobile phone), beating up some numbers and chatting with Observatory staff. An unexpected takeaway from that visit was an awareness of the close relationship between the Observatory and the local community. Seeking to further understand the local generational impact of radio astronomy (and, later, space science) construction projects and operations, I started chatting with other people working on such projects.
Sixteen projects, eight countries, and thirty-two interviews later, I had fifty-three project benefits codes grouped under several major impact themes (Nalewaik, Williams, & Mills, 2025).
Planned benefits, major science facilities (Nalewaik, Williams, & Mills, 2025)
Emergent value, major science facilities (Nalewaik, Williams, & Mills, 2025)
Shortly thereafter, the UK government announced it intended to begin explicitly evaluating social value (SV) when awarding major contracts. With legislation such as the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2013 and the Procurement Act 2023, construction projects seeking public funding needed to begin demonstrating social, economic, and environmental value. When asked about social value benefits, several interviewees from the major science project study stated they were aware of recent and expected changes to procurement and funding requirements, but (with the exception of one project) they had not yet begun to include such information in project funding proposals.
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Editor’s note: The Advances in Project Management series includes articles by authors of program and project management books published by Routledge worldwide. Their contributions to the PMWJ are coordinated by Prof Darren Dalcher, Lancaster University Management School, UK.
How to cite this paper: Nalewaik, A. (2025). Cost-Benefit Analysis, Social Value, and Project Proposals, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue VI, June. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pmwj153-Jun2025-Nalewaik-CBA-Social-Value-and-Project-Proposals.pdf
About the Author
Dr. Alexia Nalewaik
Virginia, USA
Dr. Alexia Nalewaik has over 30 years of experience in audit, estimating, and cost/risk management. She is a Fellow of the RICS, AACE International, the Guild of Project Controls, and ICEC. Alexia is Past President of AACE International, Past Chair of the International Cost Engineering Council, and a former member of RICS Governing Council. She has published three books, on performance audit, cost-benefit analysis, and reporting. Current research focuses on social value in construction.
