Project management and the private finance initiative

chapter four
Survey of RICS Project Management Faculty Members
4.1 Introduction
A questionnaire was developed in parallel with the interviews
to ascertain what proportion of Project Management Faculty
members are involved in PFI projects, in what capacity, and
their background, skills and experience. The questionnaire was
designed to be completed over the Internet and the research
population comprised those Faculty members for whom the
RICS had an email address.
The survey was undertaken by sending an email (containing a
hyperlink to the questionnaire) to each member of the research
population. Recipients were given two weeks in which to
complete the questionnaire, a copy of which is included in
Appendix F.
A total of 701 responses were received, representing a response
rate of just over 4% 14 . Although this is relatively low, it should be
remembered that PFI is a specialist subject area and may therefore
be of interest to only a small proportion of the Faculty membership.
In order to elicit further information on the skills issue, a follow-up
online questionnaire was developed for non-PFI-active respondents.
This survey received 83 responses, and so care should be taken in
interpreting the results from the follow-up survey.
4.2 Background of respondents
The majority of respondents were male (90%). This is comparable
to the figure for the RICS membership (88%), but lower than the
figure for the Faculty Membership (95%) (Pottinger et al., 2001).
Some 43% of respondents were aged between 36 and 49, but
only 6% were under 26 years of age. Female respondents were
most represented in the lower age groups. Some 29% of those
under the age of 26 were females. However, in the 36–49 and
50–64 age groups the proportion of female respondents dropped
to 7% and 3% respectively.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents (64%) held a first degree (BA or
BSc). Additionally, 10% of respondents held a masters’ degree
(MA or MSc), 7% a Diploma in Project Management and 4% a Master
in Business Administration (MBA). First degrees were most common
amongst the younger age groups. Of the 21–25 year olds, 81%
held a first degree, compared with only 59% of 36–49 year olds.
Female respondents were more likely to hold a first degree (80%
compared with 63% of males). Female respondents were also
more likely to hold a masters’ degree (12% compared to 9%), but
were less likely to hold a MBA (1% compared to 4%).
All respondents were members of the RICS. Some 18% were
members of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and 10%
were members of the Association of Project Managers (APM).
Very few respondents belonged to other organisations, such as
the RIBA (1%), CoreNet (0.6%) or the Chartered Institute of
Arbitrators (6.5%). Professional memberships tended to be more
common amongst the older age groups. Taking the CIOB as an
example, 20% of 36–64-year-olds were members, compared to
just 7% of those under 26 years of age.
The majority of respondents were from one of four different
types of organisation (Figure 4.1). The largest proportion was
from multi-disciplinary surveying practices (20%) and quantity
surveying practices (16%), but there were also substantial
numbers from construction companies (14%) and local
government (14%). Only 7% of respondents worked for a project
management practice. The data can be compared to those
collected in a previous survey of Faculty members (Pottinger et al.
(2001), the data from which are also shown in Figure 4.1. In the
present survey there was a lower proportion of multi-disciplinary,
quantity and other surveying practice employees as well those
working for corporates / Plcs. In contrast there was a higher
proportion of individuals from construction companies, local
government and project management practices. This is likely to
reflect the subject area of the questionnaire rather than a shift in
the characteristics of the Faculty’s membership over the last two
years. Overall the data shows that 73% respondents were based
in the public sector and 20% in the private sector (for 7% of
respondents their background was unknown) 15 .
14 Although this is a relatively low response rate we are confident that the sample is a representative view of the Faculty members and the profile approximately matches the previous
2001 survey. It was not possible to examine the reasons for non-response.
15 Similar figures were found for the PFI active and non-active groups.
19 chapter four Survey of RICS Project Management Faculty Members Project management and the private finance initiative