Let’s talk about public projects!
SERIES ARTICLE
By Stanisław Gasik
Warsaw, Poland
Introduction
Public projects are usually managed directly by external companies working under contracts and overseen by public administration institutions. These organizations are subject to a clear hierarchical structure, governed by regulations that define their level of autonomy and are ultimately accountable to increasingly higher levels of public administration, with the government at the top. As a result, governments are ultimately accountable for the success of public projects and the efficient use of resources allocated for implementing projects within their control.
In a previous article in PM World Journal (Gasik, 2024), I discussed Project Assurance, which involves activities designed to increase the likelihood of success for individual projects and project programs. In this article, I will focus on government initiatives aimed at improving and developing methods for managing all public projects within their jurisdiction.
In the following sections, I will cover (based on Gasik, 2023):
- The role of government advisory bodies in enhancing public project management
- Strategies for improving public project management
- Modes of improving public project management.
Advisory bodies
Public administration institutions establish bodies tasked with advising on the development of project implementation processes. These entities may independently introduce certain improvements to project implementation processes. In more significant matters, usually related to governance, they advise governments to make decisions within their authority that lead to more substantial improvements.
In the U.S. federal government, based on the Program Management Improvement Accountability Act (PgMIAA, U.S. Congress, 2015), the Program Management Policy Council (PMPC) was established, tasked with improving project and program management practices.
The Canadian Project Management Advisory Committee (PMAC, Canada PSPC, 2009) was created to strengthen project management capabilities. The purpose of PMAC was to maintain and develop the National Project Management System. To this end, it promoted best practices, identified similarities in procedures, tools, documentation, and reviewed project practices. PMAC also reviewed project management methodologies to create conditions for timely achievement of project milestones. It also explored innovative approaches to project management. In 2015, PMAC was replaced by the NPMS Continuous Improvement Team, which has similar tasks and authority.
At the state level in North Carolina, the IT Strategy Board focuses on developing and improving processes, procedures, and benchmarks for projects (North Carolina NCDIT, 2020). The advisory body may be responsible for defining state policies, procedures, and methodologies, including project management (Kansas Information Technology Executive Council, ITEC, Kansas OoITS, n.d.). In the Australian state of Victoria, the Advisory Board (Victoria OPV, 2016) advises agencies involved in project management.
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Editor’s note: This article series is related to the management of public programs and projects, those organized, financed and managed by governments and public officials. The author, Dr. Stanisław Gasik, is the author of the book “Projects, Government, and Public Policy”, recently published by CRC Press / Taylor and Francis Group. That book and these articles are based on Dr. Gasik’s research into governmental project management around the world over the last decade. Stanisław is well-known and respected by PMWJ editors; we welcome and support his efforts to share knowledge that can help governments worldwide achieve their most important initiatives.
How to cite this paper: Gasik, S. (2024). The role of governments in improving public project management, Let’s talk about public projects, series article, PM World Journal, Volume XIII, Issue X, October/November. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pmwj146-OctNov2024-Gasik-Improvement-of-public-projects-by-Governments-1.pdf
About the Author
Stanisław Gasik, PhD, PMP
Warsaw, Poland
Dr. Stanisław Gasik, PMP is a project management expert. He graduated from the University of Warsaw, Poland, with M. Sc. in mathematics and Ph. D. in organization sciences (with a specialty in project management). Stanisław has over 30 years of experience in project management, consulting, teaching, and implementing PM organizational solutions. His professional and research interests include project knowledge management, portfolio management, and project management maturity. He is the author of the only holistic model of project knowledge management spanning from the individual to the global level.
Since 2013, his main professional focus has been on public projects. He was an expert in project management at the Governmental Accountability Office, an institution of the US Congress. He is the author of “Projects, Government, and Public Policy,” a book that systematizes knowledge about government activities in the area of project management.
He was a significant contributor to PMI’s PMBOK® Guide and PMI Standard for Program Management and contributed to other PMI standards. He has lectured at global PMI and IPMA congresses and other international conferences.
His web page is www.gpm3.eu.
To view other works by Dr. Gasik, please visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/stanislaw-gasik-phd-pmp/
