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Challenges in the Era of Globalization - iaabd

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Proceed<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 12th Annual Conference © 2011 IAABD<br />

especially <strong>in</strong> rural areas as <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1970s. The process projects typical <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1980s, <strong>in</strong>clude projects like<br />

policy advice, education, health, and <strong>in</strong>stitutional build<strong>in</strong>g, etc. ID projects may also be hard vs. s<strong>of</strong>t<br />

projects, or autonomous projects vs. projects as programme components (Ika and Hodgson, 2010). ID<br />

projects may equally be systematic projects or emergency projects <strong>in</strong> post disaster or post-conflicts<br />

situations. ID projects typically last from three to five years but <strong>the</strong> fund<strong>in</strong>g can be up to 10 years (Diallo<br />

and Thuillier, 2004, 2005). ID projects are funded by loans or outright grants. There are generally two<br />

categories <strong>of</strong> stakeholders for standard projects and <strong>in</strong> particular for <strong>in</strong>dustrial projects: <strong>the</strong> clients, who<br />

pay for <strong>the</strong> project and benefit from it, and <strong>the</strong> contractors, who get paid by <strong>the</strong> client to implement a<br />

project and deliver expected results. In addition, ID projects require at least three separate key<br />

stakeholders: <strong>the</strong> fund<strong>in</strong>g agencies, who pay for but do not receive project deliverables, <strong>the</strong> implement<strong>in</strong>g<br />

units who are <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir execution, and <strong>the</strong> target beneficiaries, who expect some benefit from<br />

<strong>the</strong>m (Khang and Moe, 2008). Diallo and Thuillier (2004, 2005) propose a more complex network that<br />

<strong>in</strong>cludes seven project stakeholders: <strong>the</strong> national project coord<strong>in</strong>ator who is <strong>the</strong> true project manager (also<br />

known as national project coord<strong>in</strong>ator or director), <strong>the</strong> task manager <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ID agency (also known as <strong>the</strong><br />

agency project supervisor or task team leader), <strong>the</strong> national supervisor, a steer<strong>in</strong>g committee,<br />

subcontractors and suppliers <strong>of</strong> goods and services, beneficiaries, and population at large. ID projects are<br />

generally managed ei<strong>the</strong>r by national and autonomous PM units or by national departments. They may<br />

also be implemented by execut<strong>in</strong>g agencies, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g private companies or consult<strong>in</strong>g firms, nongovernmental<br />

organizations or partner<strong>in</strong>g ID agencies. Like <strong>in</strong> standard projects, <strong>the</strong> PM unit ma<strong>in</strong>ly<br />

manages adm<strong>in</strong>istrative processes. Project teams may be <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> procurement, organization and<br />

control <strong>of</strong> activities carried out by eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g firms, consultants, subcontractors, etc. (Diallo and<br />

Thuillier, 2004, 2005). ID projects typically follow transactional processes and strict guidel<strong>in</strong>es that are<br />

laid down by ID agencies to ensure that rigor and transparency are ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> how contracts are<br />

awarded and how tasks are performed. Hence <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> project sponsors or task managers for example is<br />

somewhat unclear as <strong>the</strong>y will not <strong>in</strong>terfere with <strong>the</strong> day-to-day management <strong>of</strong> projects but <strong>the</strong>y are<br />

expected to be updated on every step <strong>of</strong> projects; and project managers should request authorization with<br />

a ‘no-objection’ from <strong>the</strong> former when it comes to proceed with major transactions (terms <strong>of</strong> references,<br />

short lists, contract awards, etc.). When <strong>the</strong> task managers do not grant a no-objection, <strong>the</strong> reasons may be<br />

that project teams have strayed too far from guidel<strong>in</strong>es; <strong>the</strong>re is <strong>in</strong>adequate plann<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> a task; or nonconformance<br />

with project plans. And <strong>in</strong> such <strong>in</strong>stances, project managers return to <strong>the</strong> draw<strong>in</strong>g board and<br />

repeat <strong>the</strong> whole process (Diallo and Thuillier, 2004, 2005).<br />

Overall, <strong>the</strong> unique environment <strong>in</strong> which ID projects take place render <strong>the</strong>m very specific. ID projects<br />

are characterized by a high complexity and subtleness, <strong>the</strong> relative <strong>in</strong>tangibility <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir ultimate objective<br />

<strong>of</strong> poverty reduction, <strong>the</strong>ir large array <strong>of</strong> heterogeneous stakeholders, <strong>the</strong> divergent perspectives among<br />

<strong>the</strong>se stakeholders, <strong>the</strong> need for compromise, <strong>the</strong>ir appeal <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> eyes <strong>of</strong> politicians, <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>ound cultural<br />

and geographical gap between project designers and <strong>the</strong>ir beneficiaries, and <strong>the</strong> prevalence <strong>of</strong> ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />

bureaucratic rules and procedures (Kwak, 2002; Khang and Moe, 2008; Ika et al., 2010; Ika and Hodgson,<br />

2010). While none <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se conditions are necessarily unique to ID projects and project management,<br />

collectively <strong>the</strong>y result <strong>in</strong> a specific set <strong>of</strong> challenges and problems fac<strong>in</strong>g PM <strong>in</strong> ID, which we address <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g section <strong>of</strong> this paper.<br />

International development project management challenges and problems<br />

Generally <strong>in</strong> ID <strong>the</strong> poor performance <strong>of</strong> projects is common, and <strong>the</strong> disappo<strong>in</strong>tment <strong>of</strong> project<br />

stakeholders and beneficiaries seem to have become <strong>the</strong> rule and not <strong>the</strong> exception <strong>in</strong> contemporary<br />

reality. But dissatisfaction with project results and performance dates back to <strong>the</strong> 1950s (see, for example,<br />

J.F. Kennedy’s speech to Congress <strong>in</strong> 1961). Project failure rate at <strong>the</strong> World Bank has been over 50% <strong>in</strong><br />

Africa until 2000 (see <strong>the</strong> 2000 Meltzer Commission). The World Bank’s private arm, <strong>the</strong> International<br />

F<strong>in</strong>ance Corporation has found that only half <strong>of</strong> its Africa projects succeed. The Independent Evaluation<br />

Group (IEG), <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>dependent rat<strong>in</strong>g, claims that <strong>in</strong> 2010, 39% <strong>of</strong> World Bank projects were<br />

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