About the project
The project 'Sustainable Project Management for Development Projects (SusProLab) ' establishes a cross-border research group on sustainable project management between COMSATS University in Islamabad and Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts (as an anchor into the EuroPIM consortium). The scientific objective is to find out why development projects in Pakistan in many cases do not have sustainable success and how the methodology of sustainable project management needs to be adapted and applied to improve this situation. In the funding phase, the focus will be on 'Mini Hydro Power Plant (MHPPs) Projects', which will serve as case studies, but will also benefit from transfer-orientated advice and training in order to contribute to water and energy supply in Pakistan. A higher success rate and improved sustainability and long-term impact of development projects are also generally crucial for the further development of Pakistan. Sustainable project management and the management methodology for development projects are intensively researched and scientifically relevant topics within the scientific community for project management, also within the EuroPIM consortium. Therefore, it is of scientific relevance to understand the specific characteristics and challenges related to this type of projects in Pakistan.
Focussing project management on the achievement of long-term goals (impact) has been a long-standing focus of project management research under the term 'sustainable project management'. Analyzing development projects from the perspective of impact orientation was and is an important starting point. In addition, participatory methods play a major role, especially in projects involving the public sector and civil society actors. Sustainability is understood holistically, taking economic and social sustainability factors into account alongside ecology (people-planet-profit, PPP). Suitable project management can therefore make a significant contribution to the success of development projects. Important aspects are the adaptation to small projects, the necessary competences of the actors, participation and stakeholder management, the understanding of impact structures and change management.
