This paper investigates how the interface between governance and project management works for public projects. It describes governance frameworks, analyzes embedded governance principles, and discusses the consequences. Based on an initial literature study giving theoretical underpinning, a characterization of frameworks is developed and used to investigate three public-investment-project governance frameworks in Norway and the United Kingdom. This gives a systematic comparison of framework scope, structure, and embedded principles, and shows the differences between the frameworks and elements, despite the stated purposes being the same: increasing value for money and better use of public spending. The analysis shows the frameworks have to be politically and administratively well anchored. A case study particularly looking into cost and time illustrates how the framework influences the project through scrutiny. The analysis shows the governance frameworks are important in securing transparency and control and clarifies the role of sponsor. This work will be useful in establishing frameworks in other contexts and should be helpful in working with governance of major public projects.

We consider identification of early warning signs (EWS) in projects. Project professionals are not good at detecting or acting on EWS. Barriers that lead to this are identified. The nature of EWS and their detection change with the evolving situation. Project assessments, typically part of gateways, are useful in identifying EWS connected to the formalities of the project. As complexity increases, assessments have more limited use, and the project is increasingly dependent on detecting EWS by informal “gut feeling.” Thus, knowledge, experience, and communication skills are increasingly important in complex situations. We conclude with a list of early warning signs.

Major projects are not yet sufficiently understood, and practices in project governance and project management do not yet reflect the current state of knowledge of large, complex projects. In an attempt to understand the reasons, the authors therefore investigated the latest relevant findings documented in three countries: the UK, Norway, and the Netherlands. Their examination of the effect of implementing governance frameworks for public projects in these countries indicates that efforts to improve major projects are giving rewards: Even if complex public projects, the 'trolls', become more challenging, efforts to 'tame' them are improving. The results of the study show that project planning has improved and cost overruns are reduced. However, recent observations indicate that the effect may wear off remarkably quickly. Hence, the need for continuous improvement and change is prominent. There are fundamental limitations in the use of formal systems as they cannot detect all problems and there are limitations to humans' ability in terms of optimism bias that cannot be eliminated.

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Understanding how to systemise, organise, and finance the design, construction, operation, and maintenance activities are all parameters needed to be optimised simultaneously in a Project Delivery Method. To meet the challenges of increasingly complex projects, a new class of delivery methods is emerging. These methods are often labelled “collaborative” since they seek to align the client’s interest with those of the supply chain. The purpose of this article is to present the current state-of-the-art through a review of 156 identified articles concerning Partnering, Integrated Project Delivery, Alliancing, Relational Contracting, and Relationship-Based Procurement. A framework for the methodological procedure based on the state of the art within qualitative research was elaborated and is reported on in this paper. The results show that there is a range of research on collaborative project delivery methods across the world. By analysing the study purposes, important themes generated and delineated as a) Conceptualisation, b) Implementation and experiences, c) Pros & Cons, d) Building Partnership & Social Dimensions, and e) Performance and Success. The paper provides an overview of collaborative project delivery methods identified in the realm of academic journals. Secondly, knowledge gaps have been identified by creating a summary of the body of evidence.

Purpose Due to the increasing risk and uncertainty of construction projects, contractual flexibility has been considered as an effective tool to cope with emergences and to promote cooperation between owners and contractors. However, in practice, owners often failed to build an efficient cooperative relationship via contracts, resulting in a lacking of appropriate justice. Furthermore, due to a lack of available empirical research, the influence of contractual flexibility on the cooperative behavior of contractors requires further investigation. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by conducting empirical research from the perspective of justice perception. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical model was developed and a series of hypotheses were proposed. Then, partial least squares structural equation modeling analyses were conducted on a sample of 188 respondents. Findings The results show that contractual content and executing flexibility both have a positive influence on the cooperative behavior of a contractor, which was partially mediated by distribution, procedural, and interactional justice perceptions. Moreover, content flexibility has a significant impact on all three types of justice perception, and the execution of flexibility has more impact on interactional justice compared to other justice perceptions. Originality/value The findings contribute to an improved understanding of how contractual flexibility affects the cooperative behavior of contractors, indicating that the owner could develop a fair exchange relationship through flexible contracting and motivation of the other party.

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The purpose of this article is to map and review the governance of public investment projects in Ethiopia and to identify the most important front-end challenges of public investment projects in the country. The research focuses on the front-end governance of major construction projects. The findings of the research indicate that the top-down project approach, lack of mandatory control gateways at the front-end project preparation and decision-making stages, and weak links between project stakeholders affected the effectiveness of the project governance system. In additon to this, the most important factors that could affect the relevance and sustainability of public investment projects are identified.