Project Management Institute
PMI Project Management Research Program
Request for Research Proposal

Background

Over the last 40 years project management has grown from a tactical function to a strategic imperative. Project managers themselves have evolved from part time functional managers assigned to a given project to full time professionals leading teams at the project, program and portfolio levels. The growth of project management has also benefited from the development and adoption of numerous standards. These include such standards as the PMBOK ® Guide and a myriad of other PMI standards focused on programs, portfolios, earned value management, project configuration management, project scheduling, work breakdown structures, project estimation, project risk management and organizational maturity. By its nature, standards development is a consensus building process yet we know, intuitively, that standards are not followed to the letter. Each project is a unique temporary organization focused on a specific mission and outcome. Similarly, each organization is different. It must deal within its industry, its economic constraints, cultural pressures and geo-political influences. What traditionally evolves from the myriad of standards, processes and methods focused on organizational capabilities is a set of best practices. These may be common across organizations in a given industry. For example in the construction industry certain aspects of project management such as cost estimation may be more important than in other industries that may view risk management as more salient. Best practices are important to the eventual outcomes that projects provide for an organization’s ultimate success.

The purpose of the proposed research will be to delve into the best practices common, not to specific companies (organizations) as much as they are common to a particular industry or project type. Most importantly the research will delineate the best outcomes that are expected for organizational success in different industries. Once these “industry outcomes” have been defined the research will delve into those project management practices which specifically contribute to those outcomes, thereby defining industry best practices leading to industry best incomes. It is not expected that these outcomes for industries, nor the project management best practices contributing to them will be similar across all industries. Rather we would expect that in the construction industry certain outcomes such as on-time scheduling and within budget cost estimation will be more important than in software development where the best industry outcome may be the quality of the deliverable to the user. Of particular interest are comparisons across the automotive, IT, construction, aerospace/defense, pharmaceutical and financial services industries. In addition, it will be important to ascertain differences that might exist across regional and cultural boundaries, therefore, a global perspective to the research is required.

Project proposals are invited to research the topic and may be empirical in nature or suggest conceptual or theoretical frameworks.

RESEARCH PROPOSALS REQUESTED

The PMI Research Program is seeking proposals for research that deal with variations in project management practice by industry, region and project type. They should be titled, “Response to RFP: “Best Industry Outcomes.” The investigation team should incorporate the following deliverables for the completed project as well as others deemed appropriate by the project evaluation team:

1.      Documented and annotated literature search and other sources of background information.

2.      Discussion of the specific research methodology used for hypotheses testing.

3.      Discussion of the acceptability of these methods and measures.

4.      A one-year project may be considered exploratory in nature and would require status reports, as requested, to the Research Member Advisory Group liaison assigned to the project and a final report suitable for publication in a well reputed peer reviewed journal.

5.      A project longer than one year is considered a full project and may be eligible for multi-year funding. As above and dependent on the anticipated duration, the project will require reports as requested. Additionally, there will be required one or more interim papers for presentation at a peer reviewed conference or symposium as well as a final report suitable for publication in a well reputed peer reviewed journal.

6.      Investigators may be asked to: present preliminary or final findings at a PMI Research Program Working Session; or, participate in a telephone conference with the Research Member Advisory Group should they deem it necessary to clarify the status and direction of the research.

7.      A final report ready for publication as a book, monograph or product appropriate to the subject matter, as described previously in this section, with copyright assignment to the PMI.

8.      The contribution this research will make to the project management community.

Proposal Resources and Schedule

PMI Research Program financial resources for this investigation are limited to $30,000 U.S. in total, regardless of the agreed to project duration. Therefore, the Program seeks proposals from researchers who will have access to other financial resources needed to plan, conduct, and complete this investigation. Researchers must also be able to independently obtain data and/or participants for the research investigation without reliance on PMI.

The initial research proposal must be received by 30 June 2008. Following evaluation, selection and notification by 4 August 2008, expanded proposals will be required by 15 September 2008. The research grant decisions will be made by 24 October 2008. The completed signed contract must be received by 22 December 2008. Initial payments will be forwarded per agreed contract dates in 2009.

The deadline for all dates is 5:00PM (1700) US Eastern Time (-5 GMT).

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION AND EVALUATION PROCESS

The PMI Research Program-Supported Research Project Requests may be viewed at http://www.pmi.org/Resources/Pages/Current-Research.aspx.    

An initial proposal of approximately three pages, in 12-point type, must include:

• - The project title
• - The name(s) of the researcher(s)
• - Relevant credentials
• - Affiliated institution(s)
• - Underlying hypothesis
• - Preliminary strategy to accomplish the goal
• - Conceptual plan of action
• - Expected outcome or deliverable(s)
• - Anticipated completion date
• - Proposed cost of the research
• - Other sources of funds for this project
• - Potential source(s) of data and/or participants
• - Other information deemed relevant by the submitter

The proposal should be accompanied by curriculum vitae for the primary investigators. This is not to be counted as part of the three pages of the preliminary proposal.

Following the initial process of receipt, evaluation and selection, expanded proposals of no more than 10 pages will be solicited from those chosen to be finalists. The proposal should contain a more detailed explanation of the information included in the initial proposal along with the investigative approach, potential barriers to success and possible approaches to overcoming the barriers.

Acceptance of a research proposal will require the signing of a mutually amenable work-for-hire research-grant agreement covering specific deliverables, status reports, payment schedule, intellectual property rights, and other relevant terms. Copyright assignment of the final report to PMI will be part of the research-grant agreement. However, the researcher will be able to use the data and content from their work for other professional endeavors. Any publication of the work by the authors must be approved in writing by PMI.

Evaluation of the submitted proposals and selection of proposal(s) for funding will be completed by the PMI Research Program Team. Their decision(s) will be final.

Proposal Submissions 

E-mail submission of the proposals is preferred, but postal mail will be acceptable for this preliminary, first round process as well as for the final, second round proposal for those selected. Please put Please put “Best Industry Outcomes” in the subject line of the emails.

Project Management Institute
Research Department
14 Campus Boulevard
Newtown Square, PA  19073-3299 USA
Telephone: +1-610-356-4600 x 5067
Fax: +1-610-356-1656
E-mail: jeanmarie.martin@pmi.org

 For complete details on the RFP process, please visit: http://www.pmi.org/Resources/Pages/Research-Request-for-Proposal-Process.aspx.

Please direct any questions about the desired investigation(s) or the personal submission and evaluation process to Jean Marie Martin, PMI Research Coordinator, at +1-610-356-4600, extension 5067 or jeanmarie.martin@pmi.org.