The Role of Projects and
Project Management
FEATURED PAPER
By Isaac Odhiambo-Abuya
Department of Management Science and Project Planning
University of Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract
Sustainability transitions entail non-linear shifts that are fundamental to achieve sustainable systems in society. These changes are steered by collectively shared views of what is desirable in the future, or sustainability imaginaries. Although transition studies tend to concentrate on macro-level policy regime or technological regime, this conceptual article places projects and project management as vital micro-level instruments of change that constitute and actualize such imaginaries. We develop the interaction between sustainability imaginaries and the tentative, short-lived organizational frameworks of projects. We suggest that projects do not simply implement sustainable strategies, but instead they are spaces where new sociotechnical imaginaries are tested, contested, and institutionalized. Our conceptual framework integrates concepts and literature of both transition management and project studies and suggests that project management has a role to play in bridging the long-run transition vision with short-run, tactical action and in alleviating path dependencies, which support and uphold unsustainable regimes. The article provides a theoretically grounded agenda on future research and practice.
Keywords: sociotechnical imaginaries; sustainability transitions; project management; project-oriented agency; niche development; future-making
- Introduction
Sustainability transitions refer to long-term, multi-dimensional changes in sociotechnical systems which fundamentally alter modes of production, consumption, and governance (Markard et al., 2012; Koheler et al., 2019). These shifts are not merely technical changes. On the contrary, they are more profoundly political and ideological in character, through being shaped by the collectively shared visions of desirable futures. Jasanoff & Kim (2019) conceptualize such visions as sociotechnical imaginaries, highlighting that they are collectively held, institutionally established and publicly performed visions of desirable futures. Additionally, they are demonstrated by shared understandings of social life and the social order that can be achieved through advances in science and technology. Regarding sustainability, imaginaries of net-zero cities, circular economies and regenerative food systems are robustly directing policy and investment (Beck et al., 2021; Tjhin, 2024). An example of how visions may be translated into reality is the renaturation of the Isar River in Munich, which illustrates the spatial and temporal dimensions through which enviro-technical imaginaries guide the transformation of urban landscapes (Tjhin, 2024).
Transition studies have yielded complex models of how niche innovations break through established regimes, in particular the multi-level perspective (Geels, 2002; Geels & Schot, 2007). This discourse, however, tends to ignore the very organizational types in which such dynamics are realized. At the same time, the project management discipline has typically concentrated on the efficient provision of outputs within the limitations of time, cost, and scope, without consideration of the transformative potential of projects beyond the iron triangle (Silvius & Schipper, 2014; Aarseth et al., 2017). As a result, there still exists a significant gap. Even the tool to operationalize transition strategies has yet to be theorized in both disciplines. Geels & Locatelli (2024) opine that project studies need to be broadened to include sustainability shifts, whereas Friedrich (2023) demonstrates that sustainability role in project management is still perceived in fragmented ways.
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How to cite this paper: Odhiambo-Abuya, I. (2026). Sustainability Transition Imaginaries: The Role of Projects and Project Management; PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue VI, June. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/pmwj165-Jun2026-Abuya-Sustainable-Transition-Imaginaries.pdf
About the Author
Dr. Isaac Odhiambo-Abuya
Nairobi, Kenya
Dr. Isaac Odhiambo-Abuya is a distinguished educator and leader in project management at the University of Nairobi, Kisumu Campus, where he directs academic programs and chairs the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Committee. He is deeply committed to graduate mentorship and advancing the field, having co-founded the university’s premier Annual International Conferences in Project Planning & Management and Project Monitoring & Evaluation. He maintains an active membership with the Project Management Institute (PMI). He can be contacted at isaac.abuya@uonbi.ac.ke
