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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyze the empirical relationship between project management (PM) efforts (the extent to which national project coordinators (NPCs) -the project managers in the aid industry sector -make use of available PM tools), project success, and success criteria. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected by way of questionnaires delivered by mail to 600 recipients in 26 different countries in Africa. Findings -The research results suggest that project success is insensitive to the level of project planning efforts but a significant correlation does exist between the use of monitoring and evaluation tools and project "profile," a success criterion which is an early pointer of project long-term impact.Research limitations/implications -This paper contributes to PM research by exploring the relationship between the use of PM tools and project success in the non-traditional PM -although project oriented -aid industry sector. The paper highlights self-perceptions of NPCs and should not be interpreted in other ways. Practical implications -This paper highlights the importance of PM tools in practice. Further, it suggests that NPCs (who are in fact only involved in project execution) put a lot of effort into monitoring and evaluation. In so doing, they strive to ensure project performance and accountability throughout project lifecycle, and this contributes to project "profile." Originality/value -This is the first study that offers insights into the relationship between PM efforts and project success in the aid industry sector. The paper calls for further research on PM practices in the aid industry sector where projects remain important instruments for aid delivery.

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to summarise a doctoral thesis that has been defended in 2007 and to share scientific results on a recent organisational phenomenon, the Project Management Office (PMO), in a context where most of the literature is currently coming from consultants. The focus of this research bears on the PMO transformation process rather than on the description of their great variety. Results bring into question some established paradigms on PMOs. Design/methodology/approach -The methodological strategy is based upon a constructivist epistemology. Just as organisations are complex social entities, so too are the specific organisational project management structures that encompass PMOs. The methodological strategy is designed to understand such complexity. Results reported in the thesis are based upon a grounded theory approach where over 60 interviews from four large organisations were analysed to uncover the process of transformation of organisational project management. Findings -There are two primary findings. First, a PMO should not be considered as an isolated island in the organisation, but rather as one part of an archipelago, defined as the organisational project management. Second, the organisation project management and specifically the PMO evolve continuously adapting to changes in their external or internal environment or as an answer to internal tensions. Originality/value -From an academic perspective, the originality of this research rests primarily on its non-positivist epistemology to the study of PMOs and particularly with the mobilisation of a social conceptual framework. From the professional perspective, it provides PMO managers with a fresh look at their own configuration and it gives them means to understand their evolution through their particular history. Being able to do this reflection, managers making decisions on structural dimensions are more critical of the advices from outsiders.