Adaptive project management model for the international development and aid projects

Abstract

This paper develops an adaptive Project Management Model (PM-Model) for the International Development and Aid Projects (IDAPs) that International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) implement by integrating IDAPs' requirements grounded in Total Quality Management (TQM) and Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS). The three-round Delphi process allows experts' opinions to identify the deficiencies of the PMBOK ® Guide to propose an adaptive PM-Model for the management of IDAPs. Seven experts suggest the required adaptations in Round-1 and narrow down the transformations in Round-2. Then, in Round-3, nine practitioners validate the proposed new model of the final adaptive PM-Model that entails eight adaptions to the PMBOK ® Guide for the interest of IDAPs and vulnerable people reached by these projects. The result contributes to the PM theory by providing an adaptive PM-Model for the international development industry.This study addresses the practical problems faced by the practitioners. Thus, it promotes people's inclusion and decision-making, relevancy of provided assistance by IDAPs, accountability, coordination, local capacities and community leadership, monitoring and evaluation, and satisfying donors of IDAPs. K E Y W O R D Score humanitarian standards, Delphi method, international development and aid projects, project management, total quality management

Avid, Averse, Apprehensive, or Apathetic? A typology of collaboration attitudes

“…Transnational nonprofits have been defined as “self‐governing, non‐state, not‐for‐profit organizations whose missions focus beyond state boundaries to address a wide range of issues in the service of the public benefit” (Balboa, 2014, p. 273). These organizations began to grow in the early 20th century and have seen rapid growth since the 1970s, with their estimated number jumping from a few hundred organizations in the early 20th century to over 50,000 organizations by 2010, performing many increasingly visible roles in the global arena that transgress national borders and jurisdictions, such as advancing human rights, humanitarian relief, environmental protection, and conflict resolution (Boli, 2006; Mahmoud Saleh & Karia, 2022; Mitchell, 2014; Mitchell & Schmitz, 2014). As Mitchell (2014, p. 576) points out, “in circumstances in which domestic governments are incapacitated, for‐profit corporations are unwilling to act and foreign government agencies are unwelcome, transnational nonprofits are often the best, and occasionally the only viable vehicles for public service delivery.” The transnational subsector is also among the nonprofit subsectors that saw the fastest growth recently in the US (McKeever, 2015), with over 1000 new transnational nonprofits incorporated annually (Brass et al, 2018).…”

“…Case in point, there is very limited research on transnational nonprofit leaders' perspectives on collaboration. This is an important knowledge gap because transnational nonprofits often need to rely on collaborations across sectoral and national borders to respond to cross‐border, wicked problems such as international relief and development, conflict resolution, and environmental protection (e.g., Boli, 2006; Mitchell, 2014; Mahmoud Saleh & Karia, 2022; Mitchell et al, 2020; Stroup & Wong, 2013; Tran, 2020a; Tran, 2020b; Tran, 2022; Tran & AbouAssi, 2021). The limited existing research on this topic (e.g., Mitchell, 2014; Mitchell et al, 2015) has also largely focused on transnational nonprofit leaders' positive or negative attitudes toward collaboration opportunities.…”