2023 Newsletters | Second Quarter

04/26/2023

By John Grill Institute For Project Leadership

May 5, 2023

Welcome to the John Grill Institute for Project Leadership’s Newsletter, keeping you up to date with our latest research and news. As a ‘go-to’ place for global insight on how to set-up and execute projects, we have developed a knowledge base, recently hosted a megaproject workshop, and continuously connect with our international partners to grow our network and expand the Institute’s global impact as a leading project leadership institute. Our Director, Professor Jennifer Whyte, and the team look forward to working with you and to keeping you updated throughout the year.

Upcoming:

Early Registration – 2023 International Symposium (9 & 16 November)

We are happy to announce early registrations for the 3rd International Symposium on Project Leadership in a Changing World to be held 9 and 16 November 2023 is now available. As we face a changing world it is imperative to think differently about projects and their leadership. The John Grill Institute for Project Leadership’s 2023 International Symposium on “Project Leadership in a Changing World” will discuss the latest insights through a series of keynote panel sessions and paper presentations with leading researchers in the field. We are developing our agenda and will release this shortly. This is an event that has drawn over 300 attendees in the last two years and is shaping up as a major event for those interested in projects and the complexity of project leadership in a changing world. For early registrations please click on the link here.

Call for Papers – 2023 International Symposium

The themes for this 2023 Symposium include:

Project Teams and Project Leadership
Collaborative Contracts, Project Governance and Set-Up
Project Analytics in a Changing World
Achieving Net Zero: Projects as Interventions

This call is for extended abstract submissions related to the themes of this symposium: “Project Leadership in a Changing World”. These submissions will be shortlisted by a panel of international judges. If successful, you will be invited to submit a recorded presentation to be reviewed before the live Symposium. There will be a Best Research Presentation Award. The Symposium will take place 9 November at 9am (AEDT) and 16 November 7pm (AEDT) 2023. Submission deadline is 23 July 2023.

The deadline for the separate submission for the Special Collection paper is December 15, 2023, to find our more please click on the icon ‘Project Leadership and Society’ paper icon. Read more

Call for Papers – Special Collection: Project Leadership in a Changing World

Professor Jennifer Whyte, Dr Nader Naderpajouh and Dr Mehdi Rajabi Asadabi are seeking submissions for a special collection on Project Leadership in a Changing World in Project Leadership and Society Journal. The deadline for the separate submission for the Special Collection paper is December 15, 2023, to find our more please click on the icon ‘Project Leadership and Society’ paper icon.

Latest News:

9th International Megaprojects ‘Theory Meets Practice’ Workshop

The John Grill Institute for Project Leadership hosted the 9^th International Megaprojects “Theory Meets Practice” Workshop on Monday 3 and Tuesday 4 April. Over 50 invited participants from around the world attended – including global scholars and leading industry practitioners. The event discussed how, in a world beget by grand challenges from climate change, social inequality to polarised politics and biodiversity loss, it has become increasingly difficult for infrastructure development projects to progress unless they attend to wider social and environmental concerns. Some of the debates centred on megaproject governance and societal value production, integration and adaption of megaprojects to megaprograms, collaborative practices and collaboration drivers in a competitive world. For more information on our megaprojects event please click below. Read more

BIM Workshop: Drivers and Processes of BIM Adoption: Lessons from Australia and South Korea

The first BIM workshop took place on 24 February and provided an opportunity to exchange ideas about how Building Information Modelling (BIM) is adopted and used in Australian contexts. Held in partnership with Professor Ghang Lee from Yonsei University, the aim was to document and share best practices unique to both countries. Professor Jennifer Whyte provided the workshop context, while Simon Vaux from DEOS Digital outlined a short history of BIM in Australia. Workshop participants drew on their personal experiences and knowledge of BIM to contribute directly to the collaborative discussion. Read more

Megaprojects, Future Making and Project Leadership in a Changing World- Delft University of Technology Seminar delivered by Professor Jennifer Whyte

Australia and the Netherlands have opportunities to learn from each other on infrastructure and project leadership, the bilateral relations between the two nations have meant the importance of strengthening the relationship with countries such as the Netherlands is more prominent than ever. We are proud to be sharing insight with a leading university in the Netherlands this month, and happy to be developing our international links. On the 17-21 April, Professor Jennifer Whyte, will visit Delft University of Technology to present her research on innovation across megaprojects, and on future making and project leadership in a changing world. Read more

Spotlight:

National Centre for Cultural Competence Workshop

The John Grill Institute for Project Leadership is committed to journey together, value, respect and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s knowledges and cultures. The Institute has finalised a One Sydney, Many People grant project to collect best practice and help inform our academics and industry partners to support First Nations people to define the approach to engaging with communities who may be impacted by projects. Glenda Roberts, a proud Bundjalung woman, has been our guiding light in this project and we thank her for her insight.

Professor Paula Jarzabkowski: Keynote speaker at the 9^th International “Theory Meets Practice” Workshop

The Institute was pleased to welcome, Professor Jarzabkowski to the 9^th International Megaprojects ‘Theory Meets Practice’ Workshop in early April. Professor Jarzabkowski is a Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Queensland Business School, Australia, and City, University of London, UK. The Institute was delighted to have Professor Jarzabkowski as the keynote speaker to present her insights on Disaster Insurance and Climate Adaption: Maladaptation or Resilience? Professor Jarzabkowski discussed the underlying paradoxes of insurance as a form of resilience through her study of flood risk management. Professor Jarzabkowski is a global expert in the public-private mechanisms proliferating around the world to address the insurance protection gap. We would like to thank Professor Jarzabkowski for her time and insightful contributions to the workshop. Read more

Professor Andrew Davies

We were delighted to welcome Professor Andrew Davies, RM Phillips Freeman Chair and Professor of Innovation Management in SPRU at the University of Sussex Business School, to the 9^th International Megaprojects ‘Theory Meets Practice’ workshop hosted by the John Grill Institute for Project Leadership in early April. Professor Davies is Adjunct Professor in Strategy at BI, Norwegian Business School, Honorary Professor at the Bartlett Faculty of Built Environment, University College London (UCL) and Visiting Professor in the Department of Business and Management, LUISS, Rome. Professor Davies expertise in generating innovation within large-scale, complex projects is highly valued at the John Grill Institute for Project Leadership. We thank Professor Davies for his time and valued contributions.

Continue to follow us on social media

Links to the call for submission for the Special Issue and early registration for the November Symposium can be found here:

The John Grill Project for Project Leadership is actively communicating our latest news and events on Mastodon, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. For the latest updates please follow us on either one of the platforms to receive #JGIPL content. Subscribe on YouTube | Follow on Mastodon | Follow us on LinkedIn | Follow us on Twitter

Upcoming Events:

3rd International Project Leadership in a Changing World Symposium (Morning Session) – Thursday 9th November, 2023
3^rd International Project Leadership in a Changing World Symposium (Evening Session) – Thursday 16^th November, 2023

Previous Events:

International Megaprojects “Theory Meets Practice” Workshop – Monday 3 and Tuesday 4 April, 2023
Martina Huemann: The Power of Projects to Create a Better Future – Tuesday 22^nd November, 2022
Tim Broyd: Innovation and the Search for Low Carbon Buildings and Infrastructure – Thursday 17^th November, 2022
Mark Dodgson AO: Innovation in Professional Services Firms – Monday 14^th November, 2022
2^nd International Project Leadership in a Changing World Symposium (Morning Session) – Thursday 3^rd November, 2022
2^nd International Project Leadership in a Changing World Symposium (Evening Session) – Thursday 10^th November, 2022

Publications:

For further research:

Whyte, J., & Mottee, L. (2022). Projects as interventions. International Journal of Project Management, 40(8), 934–940. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2022.10.007
Jones, K., Mosca, L., Whyte, J., Davies, A., & Glass, J. (2021). Addressing specialization and fragmentation: Product platform development in construction consultancy firms. Construction Management and Economics, 40(11-12), 918–933. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2021.1983187
Mim, T. R., Amatullah, M., Afreen, S., Yousuf, M. A., Uddin, S., Alyami, S. A., Hasan, K. F., & Moni, M. A. (2022). Gru-Inc: An inception-attention based approach using GRU for human activity recognition. Expert Systems with Applications, 119419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2022.119419
Liu, L. X., Clegg, S., & Pollack, J. (2022). Power relations in the Finance of Infrastructure Public-private partnership projects. International Journal of Project Management, 40(7), 725–740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2022.08.002
Behnamfar, R., Sajadi, S.M. and Tootoonchy, M. (2022) “Developing environmental hedging point policy with variable demand: A machine learning approach,” International Journal of Production Economics, 254, p. 108640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2022.108640
Sarkar, S., Waldman‐Brown, A., & Clegg, S. (2022). A digital ecosystem as an institutional field: Curated peer production as a response to institutional voids revealed by COVID-1819. R&D Management. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12555
Sankaran, S., Clegg, S., Müller, R., & Drouin, N. (2022). Energy justice issues in renewable energy megaprojects: Implications for a socioeconomic evaluation of megaprojects. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 15(4), 701–718. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijmpb-06-2021-0147
Rego, A., Cunha, M.P. & Clegg, S. (2022). Exploring the paradoxical nature of responsible leadership. In T. Maak & N. Pless (Eds.), Responsible leadership (2nd ed.). London: Routledge, pp. 227-244.
Pollack, J. & Clegg, S. R. (2022) Uncovering the Role of Non-Human Actors in Projects, in Graham Winch, Maude Brunet, & Dongping Cao (eds) (2022) Research Handbook on Complex Project Organizing. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishers.
Baker, M., Ali, M., & French, E. (2023). Investigating how women leaders and managers support other women’s entrance and advancement in construction and engineering. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 149(2). https://doi.org/10.1061/jcemd4.coeng-12399
French, E., Ali, M., Baker, M., & Alsaree, L. (2022). Effectiveness of gender equality and diversity initiatives: a way forward. In A Field Guide to Managing Diversity, Equality and Inclusion in Organisations (pp. 308-324). Edward Elgar.
Robins, G., Lusher, D., Broccatelli, C., Bright, D., Gallagher, C., Karkavandi, M. A., Matous, P., Coutinho, J., Wang, P., Koskinen, J., Roden, B., & Sadewo, G. R. (2023). Multilevel network interventions: Goals, actions, and outcomes. Social Networks, 72, 108–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2022.09.005
Matous, P. (2022). Community resilience under rural development projects and technocratic interventions: agenda for social network research. A Research Agenda for Social Networks and Social Resilience, 213–224. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803925783.00020
Pratiwi, A., Matous, P., & Martinus, K. (2022). Transmigration programs and migrant positions in rural community Knowledge Networks. Journal of Rural Studies, 95, 391–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.09.019
Hazenbosch, M., Sui, S., Isua, B., Beauchamp, E., Kik, A., Luke, G., Matous, P., Morris, R. J., Paliau, J., & Milner‐Gulland, E. J. (2022). Quantifying unintended effects of an agroecological research project on Farmers’ practices and social network in Papua New Guinea. People and Nature, 4(6), 1592–1602. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10404
Muruganandan, K., Denicol, J., Davies, A., Whyte, J. (2022) Systems Integration in Crossrail: exploring the evolution of complex systems and its interdependencies, International Journal of Project Management, 40 (6) 608-623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2022.03.007
Whyte, J., Naderpajouh, N., Clegg, S., Matous, P., Pollack, J., & Crawford, L. (2022). Project leadership: A research agenda for a changing world. Project Leadership and Society, 3, 100044. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plas.2022.100044
Whyte, J., Comi, A., & Mosca, L. (2022). Making futures that matter: Future making, online working and organizing remotely. Organization Theory, 3(1), 263178772110691. https://doi.org/10.1177/26317877211069138
Whyte, J., Davies, A., & Sexton, C. (2022). Systems integration in infrastructure projects: Seven lessons from Crossrail. ICE Management Procurement and Law, 175(3), 103–109. https://doi.org/10.1680/jmapl.21.00014
Whyte, J., Mosca, L., and Zhou, A. (2023) Digital project capabilities and innovation: insights from the emerging use of platforms in construction, Elgar Davies, A., Lenfle, S., Loch, C., Midler, C. (eds), Edward Elgar Publishers.
Whyte, J. and Davies, A. (2023) Systems integration and construction project organising, Construction project organising, Addyman, S. and Smyth, H. (eds), Wiley-Blackwell.
Whyte, J., Farghaly, K., and Zhou, A. (2023) The Digital Revolution and Complex Project Organizing: Towards Project Management (PM) 4.0? Research Handbook on Complex Project Organizing, Winch, G., Brunet, M., Cao, D. (eds), Edward Elgar Research Handbooks in Business and Management, Edward Elgar Publishers.
Hall, D. M., Lessing, J., and Whyte, J. (2022) New Business Models for Industrialized Construction, Industry 4.0 for the Built Environment: Methodologies, Technologies and Skills, Bolpagni, M., Gavina, R., and Ribeiro, D. (eds), Springer.