Major projects and programmes

Major projects and programmes change our world; they are the principal means by which organisations proactively change, yet this is a field which has received relatively little attention in the business and management academy. MBS is determined to change that situation and so we have built up the most significant group of researchers focused on the finance, organisation and management of projects in any business school worldwide.

We address the particular challenges of infrastructure projects, where infrastructure is defined to include telecommunications and information systems. For us, infrastructure is what enables business to be done and societies to prosper and is both a dynamic source of innovation in its own right and an important enabler of innovation by its users. We therefore follow three main lines of enquiry:

  • Managing Projects and Programmes. Infrastructure is delivered through projects and programmes that may vary in size from £10m for educational infrastructure in the shape of a school to £10bn for energy infrastructure to open up access to new oil reserves. Our research emphasises the strategic and organisational aspects of managing projects and the role of uncertainty in shaping the project process. We are also particularly interested in the commercial aspects of relationships between clients and their suppliers.
  • Public Policy. There is a vast gap between the demand for, and availability of, infrastructure around the world. Potential shortages of water and energy resources, for instance, have profound implications for many regions of the world, while access to super-fast broadband is increasingly seen as an enabler of economic growth. As much infrastructure is a public good, it is of great concern to governments to ensure its availability through both direct investment and incentives to the private sector. Infrastructure is also highly regulated, and the impact of regulatory environments in shaping infrastructure is of considerable interest, especially those associated with the challenge of global warming.
  • Finance. Infrastructure is both very expensive and very long-lived. It is very attractive as an asset class under certain conditions, and where those conditions are not met governments and firms need to find innovative ways of raising finance to meet their infrastructure aspirations. Current project appraisal tools such as cost-benefit analysis often fail to capture the full benefits of infrastructure investment, and there remain challenging issues around incentivising investment in green infrastructure such as off-shore wind power and nuclear energy. The use of private finance to fund public goods is of particular interest to us.

Organisationally the principal node of our research network is the newly launched Centre for Infrastructure Development supported by industry and government funding for applied research and policy, as well as research council funding.

Research centres involved in this research area include: