Role of the Project Management Office in University Research Centres

University Research Centres (URCs) have become a primary organisational structure in universities for bringing together a critical mass of multidisciplinary research interests that can compete for large, funded research projects and create breakthrough research results. Some of the more successful U...

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Autores principales:	Gabriela Fernandes, Hugo Sousa, Anabela Tereso, David O’Sullivan
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	project management project management offices PMO role and functions university research centres Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/7bd97c636d9c41119386b1f5079285bb
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:7bd97c636d9c41119386b1f5079285bb
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:7bd97c636d9c41119386b1f5079285bb2021-11-11T19:50:11ZRole of the Project Management Office in University Research Centres10.3390/su1321122842071-1050https://doaj.org/article/7bd97c636d9c41119386b1f5079285bb2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/12284https://doaj.org/toc/2071-1050University Research Centres (URCs) have become a primary organisational structure in universities for bringing together a critical mass of multidisciplinary research interests that can compete for large, funded research projects and create breakthrough research results. Some of the more successful URCs are now developing specialised project management offices (PMOs) that can coordinate key activities, from proposal development to project execution, and ensure that research results are disseminated. A key challenge for URCs is to define what roles, functions, and competencies such a PMO should have. This research identifies a number of key attributes of PMOs that meet the unique challenges of URCs. This paper presents an initial conceptualisation of roles and functions developed from a literature review and that are later tested via a detailed survey among 370 URC participants involved in collaborative R&D projects worldwide. The study suggests that there are three PMO maturity stages: ‘basic’, ‘intermediate’, and ‘advanced’. The resulting conceptualisation highlights six functions for a ‘basic’ PMO stage, an additional ten functions for an ‘intermediate’ PMO stage, and a further ten functions for ‘advanced’ PMO. The research presented provides guidance and decision support to URCs when selecting the role that a PMO should play for achieving tangible and intangible project benefits. Although the study suggests a lengthy list of functions, none of these should be considered in isolation. Most of the functions interact with each other and affect the PMOs’ impact within the URC in various ways. The paper contributes to the transformative and evolutionary nature of PMOs, and illustrates that universities are receptive and even demanding of the need to create an effective PMO to improve the operation of major R&D projects and programs and create greater societal impact by URCs.Gabriela FernandesHugo SousaAnabela TeresoDavid O’SullivanMDPI AGarticleproject managementproject management officesPMO role and functionsuniversity research centresEnvironmental effects of industries and plantsTD194-195Renewable energy sourcesTJ807-830Environmental sciencesGE1-350ENSustainability, Vol 13, Iss 12284, p 12284 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	project management project management offices PMO role and functions university research centres Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350
spellingShingle	project management project management offices PMO role and functions university research centres Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Gabriela Fernandes Hugo Sousa Anabela Tereso David O’Sullivan Role of the Project Management Office in University Research Centres
description	University Research Centres (URCs) have become a primary organisational structure in universities for bringing together a critical mass of multidisciplinary research interests that can compete for large, funded research projects and create breakthrough research results. Some of the more successful URCs are now developing specialised project management offices (PMOs) that can coordinate key activities, from proposal development to project execution, and ensure that research results are disseminated. A key challenge for URCs is to define what roles, functions, and competencies such a PMO should have. This research identifies a number of key attributes of PMOs that meet the unique challenges of URCs. This paper presents an initial conceptualisation of roles and functions developed from a literature review and that are later tested via a detailed survey among 370 URC participants involved in collaborative R&D projects worldwide. The study suggests that there are three PMO maturity stages: ‘basic’, ‘intermediate’, and ‘advanced’. The resulting conceptualisation highlights six functions for a ‘basic’ PMO stage, an additional ten functions for an ‘intermediate’ PMO stage, and a further ten functions for ‘advanced’ PMO. The research presented provides guidance and decision support to URCs when selecting the role that a PMO should play for achieving tangible and intangible project benefits. Although the study suggests a lengthy list of functions, none of these should be considered in isolation. Most of the functions interact with each other and affect the PMOs’ impact within the URC in various ways. The paper contributes to the transformative and evolutionary nature of PMOs, and illustrates that universities are receptive and even demanding of the need to create an effective PMO to improve the operation of major R&D projects and programs and create greater societal impact by URCs.
format	article
author	Gabriela Fernandes Hugo Sousa Anabela Tereso David O’Sullivan
author_facet	Gabriela Fernandes Hugo Sousa Anabela Tereso David O’Sullivan
author_sort	Gabriela Fernandes
title	Role of the Project Management Office in University Research Centres
title_short	Role of the Project Management Office in University Research Centres
title_full	Role of the Project Management Office in University Research Centres
title_fullStr	Role of the Project Management Office in University Research Centres
title_full_unstemmed	Role of the Project Management Office in University Research Centres
title_sort	role of the project management office in university research centres
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/7bd97c636d9c41119386b1f5079285bb
work_keys_str_mv	AT gabrielafernandes roleoftheprojectmanagementofficeinuniversityresearchcentres AT hugosousa roleoftheprojectmanagementofficeinuniversityresearchcentres AT anabelatereso roleoftheprojectmanagementofficeinuniversityresearchcentres AT davidosullivan roleoftheprojectmanagementofficeinuniversityresearchcentres
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Role of the Project Management Office in University Research Centres

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