Social-ecological fit has been a popular approach to assessing the connectedness between social and ecological systems in environmental governance. However, the role of projects in social-ecological ...fit has yet to be explicitly problematized and conceptualized. Given the centrality of projects - i.e. temporally limited organizations that bring various actors into collaboration to pursue clearly defined goals and tasks - in environmental governance, this is a serious shortcoming in the literature. In this paper, we fill this gap by drawing on the hitherto unconnected literatures on projectified environmental governance and social-ecological fit. We then assess the extent to which fit can be achieved in projectified environmental governance. To do this, we develop a novel framework for assessing the vertical and horizontal dimensions of social, spatial, and temporal fit and conduct an empirical study of the European Union’s LIFE Program and environmental projects funded by the program in Estonia. Our results suggest that the spatial and temporal fit of projects is contingent on social fit, i.e., the alignment of interests and needs of project-related actors. Frictions between various levels of decision-making also condition the possibilities of achieving fit horizontally across stakeholder groups and ecological systems as well as of sustaining project results over time.
•Socio-ecological fit is a widely debated topic in environmental governance.•A critical analysis of the role of projects in social-ecological fit is currently lacking.•We explore social-ecological fit of Estonian EU LIFE projects.•The interconnectedness between different forms of fit needs to be addressed.•Pursuing socio-ecological fit is a multi-scale and multi-level effort.
In Project Society, organizing by projects plays a prominent role. This type of society is already here, but projectification continues to lead developments and transformations along a set of paths ...and trajectories. One way to describe this trend is to say that there is societal organizing in which various types of projects are becoming even more prevalent and diverse. The projectification trend seems to be the result of a variety of mechanisms at work, where a wide set of traditional institutions—ranging from laws to mindsets—is constantly challenged and reformed. Managing, along with the nature of work, are changing and adapting.
This paper develops a general-purpose framework for the governance of projects. The framework is structured by the concepts of governmentality and governance of projects, in the context of different ...levels of projectification in organizations. It visualizes the organization-specific profiles for these concepts. The dimensions and scales underlying the three concepts derived mainly from the literature on governance, general management, and project management. Eight case studies in four industries in Scandinavia and China validated the dimensions and scales and identified a new dimension for the concept of governmentality. This dimension, called precept, addresses the predominant theme in governmentality as being either organizational values, process compliance, or project well-being. Theoretical implications are in the integration of so far separate concepts plus a new governmentality dimension into one overall framework and visualization of it. Practical implications are in the identification of organization specific profiles, which can be used to develop generic profiles for industries, geographies, or otherwise different governance regimes.
•An integrated framework to assess and profile governance and governmentality•Visualizes governance and governmentality approaches at different levels of projectification•Identifies “governmentality precept“ as a new dimension of governmentality•A precept is the dominating content (values, process, or project) in governmentality.
While projectification of society has received attention in research, little has been done to exemplify underlying processes and actors involved. By applying institutional theory, we offer an ...explanatory avenue. Our explorative research advances the understanding of how project management associations influence the projectification of society. To answer this question, we drew on available insights, interviewed international experts and conducted a case study on institutional work of the German Project Management Association.
Project management associations have so far focused primarily on the corporate world and have done little for the projectification of society overall. Especially in times of disruption and major challenges for society, the support of project management associations becomes necessary. The application of institutional theory opens promising perspectives for future research on the projectification of society. Our findings on project management associations are not only relevant for researchers, but also for decision-makers in all areas of the society.
•Institutional theory offers a promising avenue for understanding projectification of society.•Project management associations exert influence through institutions on the projectification of society.•Associations have so far focused primarily on the corporate world and have done little for the projectification of society overall.
Aims:
To identify factors perceived by local government employees to affect the implementation of a municipal public health plan.
Methods:
Qualitative individual interviews (n=13) were carried out. ...Participants were sampled from three districts in Oslo municipality, Norway, and asked about their experiences with an ongoing implementation of the Oslo Public Health Plan (2017–2020). The conceptual framework of public sector projectification – a growing reliance on project organisation of policies – informed the study. The consolidated framework for implementation research was used to aid data coding and subsequent thematic analysis.
Results:
Implementation facilitators included factors perceived to support flexibility, including plan adaptability to the local setting, and factors perceived to enable structure and control during the implementation process, such as the articulation of specific goals and a shared understanding of public health work. Barriers were mainly related to complex aspects of the plan, such as the need to involve multiple stakeholders and levels of governance, and to tensions between the time-limited implementation process and the permanent organisational structures.
Conclusions:
This study has demonstrated how research-based methods can be used for the evaluation of a local community implementation process. It has identified implementation determinants using a predetermined taxonomy of operationally defined factors that are likely to influence implementation. However, while implementing a time-limited public health plan can be seen as ‘taking action’ in relation to multidimensional and complex problems, further research is needed to investigate whether plan implementation has a long-term impact on the surrounding organisation and, eventually, on public health outcomes.
PurposeThe aim of this article is to give an overview of the development and current state of projectification research. The inquiry was driven by a threefold research question: How has ...projectification been understood and defined over time, what has the trajectory of the development been and what are the main trends and emerging ideas?Design/methodology/approachThe article is an integrative literature review of research done on the notion of projectification to date. An interdisciplinary, integrative literature review was conducted using Scopus and Web of Science as primary sources of data collection. The full data set consists of 123 journal articles, books, book chapters and conference contributions. With the data set complete, a thematic analysis was conducted.FindingsAmong other things, the review outlines the development and scope of projectification research from 1995 until 2021 and discusses four emerging images of projectification: projectification as a managerial approach, projectification as a societal trend, projectification as a human state and projectification as a philosophical issue. These characteristics emphasize some common features of each of the images but also imply that the way projectification is understood changes depending on the paradigmatic perspective taken by the researcher, the time and place in which the observation was made and the level of observation.Originality/valueThe authors have outlined and discussed four images of projectification – projectification as a managerial approach, projectification as a societal trend, projectification as a human state and projectification as a philosophical issue – where each image represents a special take on projectification with some prevalent characteristics. By doing this, the authors provide a systematic categorization of research to date and thus a basis upon which other researchers can build when furthering the understanding of projectification at large.
The neoliberalization of higher education in western countries has led to work intensification, projectification, and work-life balance issues for academics. This article draws on interviews with ...Digital Humanities practitioners in higher education conducted in 2017-2018 in three Nordic countries to introduce the concept of the 'work-work balance', an under-researched phenomenon in contemporary academe. The term 'work-work balance' refers to the ways in which workers in higher education seek to balance conflicting concurrent work demands made on them. Four such work scenarios emerged from the data: the 50/50 split across different jobs; working across multiple projects simultaneously; occupying multiple functional roles; and conflicting demands within one job. The article argues that work-work balance, or rather imbalance, issues result in the inability of higher education workers to meet the demands put upon them. This raises questions regarding the role of HEIs and research funding regimes in the generation and maintenance of work-work balance scenarios and suggests that work-work balance issues need to be researched further as well as requiring urgent attention from HEIs and research funders.
The focus of this case study is the question, 'How can research integrity be taught in higher education?' I will share my experience of teaching this topic over the past three years, organising the ...various dimensions of research integrity under the broader theme of integrity in science, specifically in terms of norms, functions, and unity. Norms refer to how science conforms or deviates from normative standards, such as those proposed by Robert K. Merton. Functions relate to how science and research are endowed with a functioning, non-damaged mechanism. The third meaning pertains to the notion of science as an unbroken and undivided entity. This innovative approach may aid students in understanding the various aspects of research integrity, help them addressing the contradictions they may encounter in their work, and introduce them to the historical, philosophical, and sociological elements of science, including those from the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS).
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