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This paper assesses the literature on "capacity building" through a systematic literature review. Taking concepts as the ontological building blocks of theories, we ask: what is known about the evolution of capacity building as a concept and what can that history tell us about its strengths and weaknesses? To this end, we dig into the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of capacity building. Through this Foucauldian "archaeological description", we show that capacity building discourse has evolved dialectically, with each new concept emerging to address the failings of earlier concepts. The paper suggests the "new pragmatism" as a theoretical framework to guide a more rigorous and relevant theory and practice of capacity building especially for public administration. Rooted in sensitivity to context and methodological pluralism, the new pragmatism embraces complexity, delivers "best‐fit" rather than "best practice" solutions, and involves researchers and practitioners in decolonial knowledge co‐creation to tackle capacity building challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is about considering key aspects of project complexity to increase the likelihood of success of your projects. Complexity can cause significant issues in project management and might even lead to project failure. According to recent surveys, two of the most critical aspects of project complexity were: structural complexity (the complexity of the deliverables and their means of implementation) and socio-political complexity (the complexity of the project setting notably the effects of many diverse stakeholders). Based on complexity and systems thinking and illustrative case studies, the article proposes a user-friendly framework, which maps these two important project complexity aspects into a project complexity context. The framework highlights five different types of project complexity contexts: structured, complicated, complex, "complexicated" (that is both complicated and complex) and chaotic. It finally calls for attention on key areas that could be critical for project management in the five project complexity contexts. It is suggested that project managers focus on the project plan in structured contexts, on design and expertise in complicated contexts, on stakeholders in complex contexts, on communication between stakeholders and experts in complexicated contexts, and on rapid response and high adaptability in chaotic contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stakeholders are undeniably a key component in the success or demise of projects. This article proposes an instrumental approach for a more effective management of stakeholders, by taking into account the rational as well the political aspects of projects. Using an explicit theoretical framework and illustrations from two real-life cases, it builds on four key questions to identify, assess, engage, and manage stakeholders on an ongoing basis. This novel approach focuses on the profiles of the stakeholders and the distinction between their stated positions and their real interests. It allows for the management of existing stakeholders and the inclusion of new ones, as required for the success of the project. By partnering with stakeholders and focusing on satisfying their real --but often veiled-- interests, the project can be co-produced, resulting in a "win-win" for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a PhD thesis that examined the empirical relationship between a specific set of critical success factors (CSFs), project success, and success dimensions (criteria) from the perspectives of World Bank project supervisors (task managers or task team leaders) and project managers (the national project coordinators). Also, the PhD thesis author's journey and motivation are explained. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected by web questionnaires addressed to 1,421 World Bank task team leaders and paper-based questionnaires delivered to 600 national project coordinators in 26 different countries in Africa. Principal component and confirmatory factor analyses, multiple correlation and regression analyses, as well as structural equation models were used for data analysis in this study. Findings – First, research findings highlight a specific set of World Bank project CSFs (monitoring, coordination, design, training) and the existence of a second-order latent CSF, that is World Bank project supervision. Second, they suggest that World Bank project supervision has differing significant influences on the two project success dimensions and that the first (project management (PM) success) does not significantly affect the second (deliverable success). Third, consistent with theory and practice, they suggest that the most prominent CSFs for both World Bank project supervisors and managers are design and monitoring. Fourth, they suggest that for the national project coordinators, project success is insensitive to the level of design efforts but a significant correlation does exist between monitoring efforts and project "profile", a success dimension which is an early pointer of long-term deliverable success (impact). Originality/value – This study offers insights into the relationship between success factors and dimensions for ID projects with the perspectives of both the World Bank project supervisors and managers. The thesis calls for further research on PM in the ID industry sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the empirical relationship between project management (PM) efforts (the extent to which national project coordinators (NPCs) – the project managers in the aid industry sector – make use of available PM tools), project success, and success criteria. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected by way of questionnaires delivered by mail to 600 recipients in 26 different countries in Africa. Findings – The research results suggest that project success is insensitive to the level of project planning efforts but a significant correlation does exist between the use of monitoring and evaluation tools and project "profile," a success criterion which is an early pointer of project long-term impact. Research limitations/implications – This paper contributes to PM research by exploring the relationship between the use of PM tools and project success in the non-traditional PM – although project oriented – aid industry sector. The paper highlights self-perceptions of NPCs and should not be interpreted in other ways. Practical implications – This paper highlights the importance of PM tools in practice. Further, it suggests that NPCs (who are in fact only involved in project execution) put a lot of effort into monitoring and evaluation. In so doing, they strive to ensure project performance and accountability throughout project lifecycle, and this contributes to project "profile." Originality/value – This is the first study that offers insights into the relationship between PM efforts and project success in the aid industry sector. The paper calls for further research on PM practices in the aid industry sector where projects remain important instruments for aid delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]