New APM research fund studies selected in record-breaking year

Association for Project Management (APM) is pleased to announce the latest recipients from its annual research fund, which provides funding for small-scale research projects and seed funding for larger ones.

The 2020 call for funding received a record number of submissions, received from a wide range of stakeholders from Chartered Project Professionals to academics, students and APM volunteers amongst others.

The four successful applicants are:

• The Value of Assurance Management Practices being led by a practitioner research team of Sarah Coleman of Business Evolution and Dr Andrew Schuster of PwC.  This exploratory research project will consider the value of assurance management, with particular interest in how assurance management is practiced in large multi-organisational projects (which may also be identified as programmes or portfolios of projects).
• Organizational justice in projects: Characteristics, applications and impact, led by Dr Christine Unterhitzenberger, University of Leeds. This research will investigate how individuals perceive justice in the context of inter-organisational projects where individuals face a duality of authority, i.e. a line manager and a project manager. Projects will play a key role in relation to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in two aspects: firstly, projects are and will continue to be the vehicle to implement the change required for many of the goals and secondly, how projects are managed and how people are treated in projects can directly contribute to create a better and more sustainable future for everyone.
• A study led by Dr Mohamed Abadi, University of Manchester, aims to develop a holistic, integrated framework to facilitate selection of more ‘circular’ construction projects through embedding lifecycle ‘circularity’ assessments in project selection. This requires the use of multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) and structured decision-making techniques e.g. the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The framework is intended for decision-making and comparison purposes. The research seeks to firstly
• A study led by Dr Natalya Sergeeva, University College London, exploring the grand challenge of sustainability in the UK construction. The research will explore the role of sustainability managers, project professionals and organisations in their engagement with the grand narrative of sustainability in the construction sector policy.

APM research manager Daniel Nicholls said: “We are delighted to award funding to four uniquely interesting studies this year, each of which covers important topics for practice including the value of assurance, organisational justice and the circular economy within construction.

“Some of our research fund publications have become hugely popular in the past few years and we would urge individuals and organisations from across the profession to get involved over the coming year.”

For further details on any of the above studies or to find out how you or your organisation can get involved please visit APM’s research opportunities page.