Collaborative project delivery models in infrastructure construction

When projects grow into megaprojects, their management becomes more complex due to an increasing number of inter-organisational interfaces within the project organisation. Spurred on by both the growing size of projects but also the adversity and conflict-prone culture characteristic of construction, the infrastructure industry has turned to collaborative project delivery models based on relational governance. However, little is known of this new phenomenon and as literature thus far mainly focused on the procurement phase and governance, researchers have called for further insight into the delivery phase and how projects using collaborative delivery models work in practice. This thesis aims to investigate the application of CPDM in infrastructure delivery projects and analyse changes introduced thereby for project actors. The aim is examined through three research questions: (1) How do social network dynamics explain the implementation of CPDM in the delivery phase of infrastructure projects; (2) How does using a CPDM impact project delivery; and (3) How does using a CPDM influence the interaction between the project network and its institutional environment?Collaborative project delivery models are said to support trust-building, quicker decision-making, information flow and project quality through the interaction of informal relationships and formal contractual frameworks, emphasizing the social dimension of the project organisation. With these aspects in mind, I follow the recent stream of applying social network analysis and network theories to better understand these inter-organisational relations. To create deeper insight into the changing industry, I also study the interaction of the project with its environment through an institutional lens. This thesis builds on a qualitative research design based on four main case studies. The empirical data consists of interviews, observations and document analysis. I have also mapped the social networks in three projects and approach them through a qualitative lens, focusing on the interaction between the project network and its institutional framing.For megaproject research, this thesis adds rich data regarding project delivery and social networks created in large-scale project organisations. The research also identifies mechanics enabling the creation of collaborative organisations, but also the challenges of too well-connected networks. With respect to institutional change and institutional logics, this thesis adds insight and empirical examples of how logics interact and develop within project organisations. The contrasting results from the case studies show how the project network can either enable or constrain the development of new institutions and logics and how the project acts as an arena for change. As for social network theory, this thesis adds insight into the development of networks and the importance of the ties between actors as conduits of flows within the network, both pertaining to resources and change. Through empirical examples of three project networks, this thesis explains how the ‘snapshots’ of project networks have come to be and how they might develop. Finally, for practitioners, this thesis highlights the need for a collaborative mindset from the get-go and the importance of the formal framework as an enabler of informal social ties. For those working in the field of collaborative megaprojects, the findings acknowledge the importance of the project network and social dynamics within the project. It also highlights the necessary changes in roles and behaviours, especially in early project phases, as actors need to align their understanding of the project in unaccustomed ways

Impactful learning: exploring the value of informal learning experiences to improve the learning potential of international research projects.

The Horizon 2020 (H2020) is the largest EU funded research programme, which supports mobility of international researchers through secondments to engage in collaborative research activities to enhance individual and collective research capacity within the EU. This paper explores how an analysis of secondees’ informal learning experiences can highlight opportunities for increasing individual and collective learning capacity of an international partnership and achievement of project objectives. A thematic analysis method (Miles and Huberman, 1994), was applied to 19 secondee’s individual learning reports. The main findings discussed three themes elicited through secondees informal learning, including living and working in a host country and developing an academic career. The paper outlines practice, policy and research implications for improving the learning potential of international research projects

Collaborative design : managing task interdependencies and multiple perspectives

This paper focuses on two characteristics of collaborative design with respect to cooperative work: the importance of work interdependencies linked to the nature of design problems; and the fundamental function of design cooperative work arrangement which is the confrontation and combination of perspectives. These two intrinsic characteristics of the design work stress specific cooperative processes: coordination processes in order to manage task interdependencies, establishment of common ground and negotiation mechanisms in order to manage the integration of multiple perspectives in design

Characterization and Classification of Collaborative Tools

Traditionally, collaboration has been a means for organizations to do their work. However, the context in which they do this work is changing, especially in regards to where the work is done, how the work is organized, who does the work, and with this the characteristics of collaboration. Software development is no exception; it is itself a collaborative effort that is likewise affected by these changes. In the context of both open source software development projects and communities and organizations that develop corporate products, more and more developers need to communicate and liaise with colleagues in geographically distant places about the software product they are conceiving, designing, building, testing, debugging, deploying and maintaining. Thus, work teams face sizeable collaborative challenges, for which they have need of tools that they can use to communicate and coordinate their Work efficiently

The Influence of Trust in Traditional Contracting: Investigating the "Lived Experience" of Stakeholders

The traditional procurement approach is ever-present within the construction industry. With fundamental design principles founded on definitive risk allocation, this transactional based approach fails to acknowledge or foster the cooperative relationships considered to be vital to the success of any project. Contractual design encourages stakeholders to defend their own individual interest to the likely detriment of project objectives. These failings are not disputed, however, given that trust is a fundamental requirement for human interaction the influence of trust is potentially important in terms of stakeholder relationships and ultimate project success. Trust is therefore examined within this context. A conceptual framework of trust is presented and subsequently used to code and analyse detailed, semi-structured interviews with multiple stakeholders from different projects. Using a phenomenological investigation of trust via the lived experiences of multiple practitioners, issues pertaining to the formation and maintenance of trust within traditionally procured construction projects are examined. Trust was found to be integral to the lived experiences of practitioners, with both good and bad relationships evident within the constructs of traditional procurement mechanisms. In this regard, individual personalities were considered significant, along with appropriate risk identification and management. Communication, particularly of an informal nature, was also highlighted. A greater emphasis on project team selection during the initial stages of a project would therefore be beneficial, as would careful consideration of the allocation of risk. Contract design would also be enhanced through prescriptive protocols for developing and maintaining trust, along with mandated mechanisms for informal communication, particularly when responding to negative events. A greater understanding regarding the consequences of lost trust and the intricacies of trust repair would also be of value. 

A framework for design engineering education in a global context

This paper presents a framework for teaching design engineering in a global context using innovative technologies to enable distributed teams to work together effectively across international and cultural boundaries. The DIDET Framework represents the findings of a 5-year project conducted by the University of Strathclyde, Stanford University and Olin College which enhanced student learning opportunities by enabling them to partake in global, team based design engineering projects, directly experiencing different cultural contexts and accessing a variety of digital information sources via a range of innovative technology. The use of innovative technology enabled the formalization of design knowledge within international student teams as did the methods that were developed for students to store, share and reuse information. Coaching methods were used by teaching staff to support distributed teams and evaluation work on relevant classes was carried out regularly to allow ongoing improvement of learning and teaching and show improvements in student learning. Major findings of the 5 year project include the requirement to overcome technological, pedagogical and cultural issues for successful eLearning implementations. The DIDET Framework encapsulates all the conclusions relating to design engineering in a global context. Each of the principles for effective distributed design learning is shown along with relevant findings and suggested metrics. The findings detailed in the paper were reached through a series of interventions in design engineering education at the collaborating institutions. Evaluation was carried out on an ongoing basis and fed back into project development, both on the pedagogical and the technological approaches

Digital information support for concept design

This paper outlines the issues in effective utilisation of digital resources in conceptual design. Access to appropriate information acts as stimuli and can lead to better substantiated concepts. This paper addresses the issues of presenting such information in a digital form for effective use, exploring digital libraries and groupware as relevant literature areas, and argues that improved integration of these two technologies is necessary to better support the concept generation task. The development of the LauLima learning environment and digital library is consequently outlined. Despite its attempts to integrate the designers' working space and digital resources, continuing issues in library utilisation and migration of information to design concepts are highlighted through a class study. In light of this, new models of interaction to increase information use are explored

Organizational analysis of the seed sector of rice in Guinea: stakeholders, perception and institutional linkages

This paper analyses the organization of the rice seed sector in Guinea with the overall objectives to assess how organizational settings affect seed supply to small-scale farmers and to suggest institutional changes that would favour seed service and uptake of varieties. Data were collected in Guinea, West Africa, using focus group discussions with extension workers, farmers, representatives of farmers’ associations, agro-input dealers, researchers and non-governmental organization (NGO) staff, and surveys of 91 rice farming households and 41 local seed dealers. Findings suggest that the current institutional settings and perceptions of stakeholders from the formal seed sector inhibit smallholder farmers’ access to seed. Seed interventions in the past two decades have mainly relied on the national extension system, the research institute, NGOs, farmers’ associations and contract seed producers to ensure seed delivery. Although local seed dealers play a central role in providing seed to farmers, governmental organizations operating in a linear model of formal seed sector development have so far ignored their role. We discuss the need to find common ground and alternative models of seed sector development. In particular we suggest the involvement of local seed dealers in seed development activities to better link the formal and the informal seed systems and improve smallholder farmers’ access to seed from the formal sector

Knowledge management and communities of practice in the private sector: lessons for modernising the National Health Service in England and Wales

The National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales has embarked upon a radical and farreaching programme of change and reform. However, to date the results of organizational quality and service improvement initiatives in the public sector have been mixed, if not to say disappointing, with anticipated gains often failing to materialize or to be sustained in the longer term. This paper draws on the authors' recent extensive research into one of the principal methodologies for bringing about the sought after step change in the quality of health care in England and Wales. It explores how private sector knowledge management (KM) concepts and practices might contribute to the further development of public sector quality improvement initiatives in general and to the reform of the NHS in particular. Our analysis suggests there have been a number of problems and challenges in practice, not least a considerable naïvety around the issue of knowledge transfer and 'knowledge into practice' within health care organizations. We suggest four broad areas for possible development which also have important implications for other public sector organizations