Value of project management in university-industry R&D collaborations

Purpose University-industry projects provide special challenges in understanding and expressing the values required of project management (PM) in delivering stakeholder benefits. This paper presents a framework for understanding, identifying and managing the values of PM in major university-industry R&D projects. Design/methodology/approach The value framework identifies for each of the key stakeholders, the key PM values that may require to be managed and are largely derived from research literature. Empirical research then explores, prioritises and selects key PM values that need to be managed for a specific project. A large case study is used involving one university and one industry collaborating on a multi-million Euro initiative over six years. Empirical research was conducted by researchers who observed at close quarters, the challenges and successes of managing the competing values of key stakeholders. Findings The value framework takes a stakeholders' perspective by identifying the respective PM values for each of six stakeholders: university-industry consortium, university, industry, R&D external entities, funding entity and society. Originality/value The paper demonstrates a proposed framework for designing and managing the value of PM in large multi-stakeholder university-industry R&D projects.