BT Centre for Major Programme Management

The BT Centre for Major Programme Management is an interdisciplinary research and center at University of Oxford on management of major programs, which are commonly also called "megaprojects". The Centre is located at Saïd Business School. The BT Centre for Major Programme Management conducts research into megaprojects to create a community of knowledge and it provides a resource for practitioners to locate the latest thinking on specialist topics. It is the centre's goal to disseminate its work to a wide audience of practitioners and academics alike through publications, case studies, workshops, executive education and events ^[1].

Major programmes or megaprojects are the research and teaching focus of the BT Centre for Major Programme Management Megaprojects. Megaprojects are suites of projects that aim to transform social organizations such as companies, government agencies, and societies ^[2]. As such megaprojects are highly complex and involve significant cost, schedule and benefit risks ^[3].

Research

The Centre's research agenda focuses on a broad and deep understanding of major programmes in a variety of areas such as construction megaprojects, sporting events, IT projects, and major science programmes. Key topics and selected publications include

Infrastructure

• Survival of the Unfittest: Why the Worst Infrastructure Gets Built— And What We Can Do about It^[4]
• Delusion and Deception in Large Infrastructure Projects: Two Models for Explaining and Preventing Executive Disaster^[5]

Sport events

Staging the Olympic Games in the Muslim World: A Feasibility Study^[6]

Organisational behaviour

• From Organising as Projects to Projects as Organisations^[7]
• Strategic Management of Performance: An Examination of Public Sector Organizations in the United Arab Emirates^[8]

Teaching

The BT Centre for Major Programme Management educates managers of major programs and provides them with the required knowledge of systems engineering, commercial and contract law, lifecycle planning, risk management, programmatics, organisation leadership and communication. Managers on megaprojects need to successfully implement a social contract that unifies the individual values and agendas of private and public organization while creating a collaborative model of project management, crafted in a way that clearly defines authority and responsibility ^[9]. The BT Centre for Major Programme Management has the goal to develop leaders and scholars who understand the strengths and weaknesses of major programmes and have the knowledge, skills and tools necessary to decide when to, and not to, execute such programmes and to successfully formulate policies for and plan, manage and deliver programmes on behalf of business, government and society ^[10]. For this purpose the BT Centre for major programme management runs a two year Master of Science course in Major Programme Management.^[11].

Notes

1. ^ Shifrin, Tash (12 March 2007). "Oxford University plans BT Centre for Major Programme Management". Computerworld UK. http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/careers-hr/my-career/news/index.cfm?newsid=2189/. Retrieved 2 April 2010. 
2. ^ Flyvbjerg, Bent (2009). "What is major programme management?". Oxford University. http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/centres/bt/resources/Pages/Whatismajorprogrammemanagement.aspx. Retrieved 2 April 2010. 
3. ^ Flyvbjerg, Bent; Nils Bruzelius, Werner Rothengatter (2003). Megaprojects and Risk. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-5210-0946-4. 
4. ^ Flyvbjerg, Bent (2009). "Survival of the Unfittest: Why the Worst Infrastructure Gets Built— And What We Can Do about It.". Oxford Review of Economic Policy 25 (3): 344-267. http://oxrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/25/3/344. 
5. ^ Flyvbjerg, Bent; Massimo Garbuio, Dan Lovallo (2009). "Delusion and Deception in Large Infrastructure Projects: Two Models for Explaining and Preventing Executive Disaster.". California Management Review 51 (2): 179–193. http://hbr.org/product/delusion-and-deception-in-large-infrastructure-pro/an/CMR423-HCB-ENG. 
6. ^ Randeree, Kassim (2011). "Staging the Olympic Games in the Muslim World: A Feasibility Study.". International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management 4 (3). http://hbr.org/product/delusion-and-deception-in-large-infrastructure-pro/an/CMR423-HCB-ENG. 
7. ^ Molloy, Eamonn; Dirk Pieter van Donk (2008). "From Organising as Projects to Projects as Organisations". International Journal of Project Management 26 (2): 129–137. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.05.006. 
8. ^ Randeree, K.; Al Youha, H. (2009). "Strategic Management of Performance: An Examination of Public Sector Organizations in the United Arab Emirates". The International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management 9 (4): 123–134. 
9. ^ Haynes, Wendy; Andrew Whipple (22 June 2009). "Transportation megaprojects: comparing project management and oversight approaches: three recent, well-known initiatives--Boston's Big Dig, Denver's International Airport, and Colorado's T-REX". The Public Manager. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Transportation+megaprojects:+comparing+project+management+and...-a0206516943. Retrieved 2 April 2010. 
10. ^ SBS (2009). "About the BT Centre for Large Programme Management". Oxford University. http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/centres/bt/Pages/About.aspx. Retrieved 2 April 2010. 
11. ^ Starbuck-Greer, Liz (2009). "Major programmes present complex challenges". Oxford University. http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/execed/strategy/MPM/Pages/default.aspx. Retrieved 2 April 2010. 

Sources

• Site for Oxford's BT Centre for Major Programme Management
• Site for Oxford's MSc in Major Programme Management

Coordinates: 51°45′12″N 1°16′06″W / 51.753301°N 1.268353°W / 51.753301; -1.268353