Project management: The interorganisational dimension

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Project management The inter-organisational
dimension

• Professor John AlfordAustralia and New Zealand
  School of Government

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What is a project?

• US Project Management Institute, 2001 A project
  is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a
  unique product or service (or policy or outcome).

• Three dimensions
• Maximise value / performance / benefits.
• Minimise cost.
• Complete on-time.

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Inter-organisational nature of many projects in
the public sector

• COAG Indigenous Whole of Govt Initiative.
• Cth Formulating the shape of the GST.
• NZ Circuit-breaker projects.
• Vic Integrated Family Violence project.
• NSW Strategic Projects Divn, Premiers Dept.

N.B. Inter-organisational co-operation requires
trust.
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Defining trust
Trust exists between people
Knowledge and feeling about the other
To trust someone is to be confident that in a
situation where you are vulnerable, s/he will be
disposed to act benignly towards you.
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Importance of trust tointer-organisational
co-operation

• Trust is an alternative/supplement to
  incentives/sanctions as a control mechanism.
• Trust reduces transaction costs
• Uncertainty
• Information-asymmetry
• Interdependency.

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The trust spiral
Party A
Party B
Etc
Counter-reciprocity
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Enhancing trust in partnerships

• No reneging
• Gift-giving
• information
• consultation
• access to senior management
• cutting some slack.

• Autonomy of reps
• room for mistakes
• Takes time
• consistent representation
• consistent messages.

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Public sector obstacles to collaboration
Accountability factors
Turbulence factors
Complexity factors
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Aspects of project management which mitigate trust
but
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Need for compatibility between parties re

• Purposes
• Interests in the authorising environment
• Core values/beliefs.

But we live in a world not of congruence but of
differences.
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Another approach dovetailing differences
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Other partial solutions

• Proactively managing the authorising environment
• Repeated relationships
• A project management culture.