Critical success factors of international development projects in the education sector in Egypt: Community Schools as a case study

The purpose of this study is to identify the critical success factors of development projects funded by international development partners in Egypt in the education sector. In quest of achieving this objective, the research applies a qualitative approach through a case study methodology that aims to explore the critical success factors in the community schools project implemented in Egypt by UNICEF and USAID throughout the project life cycle. Through the detailed analysis of the case study findings, in addition to secondary sources, fifteen critical success factors are revealed during the course of the project. The findings are grouped to critical success factors that facilitate project success and factors that hinder project success. Critical success factors are categorized into: 1) Internal factors that are within the direct control of the project management, among which: proper needs assessment and clear understanding of the project context, effective consultation with all stakeholders, monitoring and evaluation.; 2) External factors that are beyond the project management control; among which: availability of data, community participation, political will; 3) Factors that require mutual cooperation between two or more parties; among which: partnership with key stakeholders, working closely with the government, ensuring government’s capacity for sustainability. The study concludes that these critical success factors not only affect project success in achieving the anticipated objectives, but also the sustainability of the project. Based on the lessons learned from the case study, recommendations for future projects are driven with a view to guide policy makers, international donors, implementing agencies and development partners to better project management practices that boost project success. These recommendations include government-led initiatives to development projects, resource mobilization plan, monitoring and evaluation processes and securing adequate resources for project sustainability

Critical Success Factors For Malaysian Contractors In International Construction Projects

Currently, the construction projects are advancing gradually around the world as a result of the recent global economic crisis. In order to accommodate public needs within the current economic situation, the Malaysian Government has confined the acquirement of public sector projects to “necessary to meet public need” extends just subsequently narrowing the quantity of domestic projects accessible. A tremendous demand of development worldwide has picked up enthusiasm of Malaysian construction firms to go into international construction projects. Therefore, most major contractors have decided to change their focus by looking into international projects outside Malaysia not exclusively to guarantee the suitability of their businesses but also for long-term survival. Even though, some Malaysian contractors have managed to penetrate successfully into international construction projects, their critical success factors (CSFs) are absolutely obscure. Thus, the aim of this study is to determine the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of Malaysian Contractors in International construction projects. A general literature review and initial interview was completed and results show on the CSFs of Malaysian contractors in International construction projects. This study is based on interviews with project managers, and the person in charged with CIDB International department. They have established an excellent reputation and worldwide success in the last decade. The CSFs are then exhibited in the form of AHP priority-ranking model, which prioritizes the success factors distinguished in successive way, from the most up to the less critical ones. The establishment of this kind of priority-ranking model enables contractors in Malaysia to not just recognize the key components or factors that should be completely considered and managed yet in addition enable them to get ready appropriate mitigation strategies and contingency plans prior to entering into international construction projects

Cross-border cooperation (CBC) in Southern Europe-An iberian case study. The eurocity Elvas-Badajoz

The experiences of cross-border cooperation (CBC), undertaken not only in Europe but throughout the world, have enabled areas to gain greater importance in recent decades at an international level, showing potential for integrative functions and joint development as exemplified by several CBC projects. The present paper assesses the impact of CBC projects by analyzing a protocol established in 2013 between the cities of Elvas and Badajoz, which induced the creation of the Eurocity Elvas-Badajoz. The paper kicks off with a critical review on territorial factors for success in CBC areas, considering the analysis of several case studies throughout Europe. The lessons learned, taken from the analyzed case studies, and the identified territorial success factors were used as assessment points for the investigation of the target study area, the Eurocity Elvas-Badajoz. The investigation explores public participation perceptions towards the identification of what changes with respect to standards of life with the CBC project, providing the current state of affairs and identifying where to place efforts in order to reach sustainable development for the region. While being a transition area, it presents several opportunities for growth. These opportunities have not yet been object of analysis and debate with respect to lasting, sustainable successful growth. The present research enables the identification of several territorial factors for success in the study area, such as the connectivity/movement between cities and strong political commitment. From the identified critical factors, it was possible to highlight the importance of public transportation as a priority for achieving success in this CBC project.National Funds - FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology [UID/SOC/04020/2013

Identifying Success Criteria and Critical Factors at the Post-handover Stage for International Development Projects

This thesis aims to explore whether the outputs of ID projects can continuously deliver benefits at the post-handover stage. This research reviewed three main areas of the literature: (1) project success; (2) post-project evaluation; and (3) project benefits management, which resulted in limited studies having explored project success at the post-handover stage for ID projects. This thesis’ methodological approach rooted on interpretivism and used of the constructivist grounded theory method (CGTM). An example of ID projects was the I-MHERE funding scheme, sourced from a World Bank loan, run between 2010 and 2012, and implemented at a majority of higher education institutions (HEIs) across Indonesia. The research collected secondary and primary data, primarily, interviews from 18 participants from two institutions, was able to identify 10 success criteria and eight critical factors. The analyses indicated the different levels of the significance of identified success criteria and critical factors, as well as a variety of definitions at the post-handover stage, including further analysis by using each participant’s institutional attributes, e.g. managerial level, organisational tenure and job tenure, and suggested that organisational tenure was the core attribute for two others. This thesis also demonstrates the use of benefit reviews as a more comprehensive post-project evaluation than the one proposed earlier. This thesis concludes its findings by generating a middle-range theory: the higher the level of organisational tenure, the more insightful reviewing benefits of delivered outputs. The middle-range theory was believed to be applicable, not only for ID projects, but also other types of projects. To conclude, the findings allowed an opportunity to acknowledge its limitations that would led to recommendations for future studies

A new framework for ranking Critical Success Factors for International Construction Projects

Due to the wide range of opportunities, collaborations, and challenges offered by the international construction sector, interest in international construction is on the rise. Construction companies must be able to carry out international construction projects (ICPs) more effectively and efficiently. However, executing ICPs is more challenging than executing domestic construction projects. Considering the peculiarities of the construction industry and the associated complexity of construction projects, construction companies should decide on international capability and the selection of an ICP through a careful evaluation of their critical success factors (CSFs). Most of the previous research deals with the concept of CSFs in the context of project management in general, but few studies have identified CSFs for ICPs. To fill that gap in current research, the main objective of this study was to identify and group CSFs for ICPs. A total of 37 CSFs were identified after conducting a detailed literature review and a pre-pilot study. A new framework of CSFs for ICPs was proposed following primary research, which was conducted through in-depth interviews with leading experts in international projects. Although the constructability/ complexity factor of the project received the highest rating in terms of importance to the success of the ICP, the next most critical factors were found to be external factors, such as local contractor/subcontractor, investor, and presence of a foreign partner. The results of this research may help participants involved in ICPs to improve their understanding of the international construction environment and deliver more successful ICPs

Developing a framework for the success of international development projects in the Maldives / Mohamed Yamin… [et.al]

The paper concentrates on International Development (ID) projects implemented in the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. Some of the critical issues reported on these projects include failure of contractors and consultants to deliver goods and services, non-compliance issues on financial management / reporting practices, and project delays. The overarching central question guiding the study is “How can project success be achieved in ID projects implemented in the Maldives?” This paper seeks to assess the challenges facing projects, explore the critical success factors, and project success criteria of ID projects in the Maldives. Furthermore, the study will look into developing a framework for the success of ID projects in the Maldives. It is intended to be carried out based on a qualitative case study approach. The study hopes to capture the views of beneficiaries, project teams, and donors, and thus, help resolve the misalignment between theoretical frameworks and practice

Success Factors in IT-Projects to Provide Customer Value Propositions

Rising external competition and cost-pressures compel internal service providers to re-define their customer- service approach. Providing value propositions to the intra-firm end-users instead of provisioning technical resources becomes a necessity to facilitate transparency in costs and customer satisfaction. With that, the complexity of IT projects, particularly international ones, rises and changes in regards to impacts of inter-social and human factors. This paper uses a cross-case study method based on five cases to identify critical success factors for achieving IT-project success and the provision of the needed value propositions. Our analysis found that seven major factors are essential for the project success when coupled with a clear customer-oriented value proposition: one of the most important ones is to understand the customer’s business and with it to identify the end-user’s requirements. Furthermore, a close project collaboration, process alignment and trustful, clear communication as well the right choice of personnel emerge as important factors. Inter-social factors like support of the top-management and the early identification of stakeholders are equally crucial. Top management support acts as enabler for all these success factors. With the insight into requirements and impacts of each success factor, this cross-case study poses as operational guidance to achieve value propositions in IT-projects

Key Success Factors of Innovation in Multinational Agrifood Prospector Companies

The Wageningen Innovation Assessment Tool (WIAT) assesses a company’s drivers and barriers to innovation and benchmarks the critical success and failure factors of its innovation projects with data of agrifood prospector companies around the world. The present paper discusses its application in 12 multinational agrifood prospector companies in the Netherlands and France. It is concluded that WIAT by uncovering the tacit knowledge of the innovation project team creates opportunities for substantial improvement of the innovation process, and that agrifood companies should specifically pay attention to market and product related up-front activities.innovation, assessment tool, agrifood prospector companies, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade,

The international contractor's decision to invest : a strategic risk management decision model for public private partnership projects in Saudi Arabia

One of the main sources of risks that influence potential project success is the project selection decision, especially for international contractor organisations looking for an opportunity to invest in public private partnership projects in foreign countries. Project selection decision, which involves the bid/no bid decision, is a critical investment decision needs to be made based on concrete project evaluation and risks identifications; where negative-risk is in place if there is an absence of a rational basis at the time of making such a decision. Thus, negative consequences of such a decision might occur. The bid/no bid decision necessitates an effective project evaluation and risk identification from various aspects with consideration of several internal and external factors in order to achieve project success. Bidding for PPP projects overseas without efficiently applying risk management tools and techniques to evaluate both the project and the organisation’s current situation and capability might result either in large losses or consumption of time and resources that could have been avoided. The prime aim of this research is to develop a strategic investment decision model from the perspective of risk management, in order to facilitate the decisions of international contractors who intend to invest in public private partnership projects in the Saudi Arabian construction industry. This aim requires establishing a link between the risk management process and the organisation's strategy and its current situation, and identifying risks involved in the bid/no bid decision, PPP projects, and international investment in order to provide an effective computer-based model that is capable of organising the bid/no bid decision in a rational, logical, flexible, and user-friendly manner. The pragmatic triangulation philosophy approach is adopted as the best research methodology that allows two types of research strategy to be combined in order to accomplish the research aim and objectives. Thus, the methods used are qualitative interviews and a quantitative questionnaire-based survey. The findings of this research identified critical success factors of international contractors’ bidding decisions for PPP projects in the Saudi Arabian construction industry. In particular, seventy-seven factors affecting the bid/no bid decision were used as a foundation for development of a Strategic Risk Management Decision Model (SRMDM), available at www.srmdm.com

Significant factors of the successful lean six-sigma implementation

© 2017 International Journal of Mathematical, Engineering and Management Sciences. Based on an extensive literature review we have selected factors critical for Lean Six Sigma implementation success. Four variables were selected to be used as output variables measuring this project success: project on time completion, achievement of financial goals, sigma level achieved (that was measured using Defects per Million Opportunities, DPMO), and overall project success. Using empirical data from 256 Lean Six Sigma Projects, we present the model developed and identify significant factors for Lean Six Sigma implementation success. Empirical results, which were collected during Lean Six Sigma implementation in 39 business units of an Automotive Sector Company in North America and Europe, were analysed using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and General Linear Model (GLM). Two main factors were found as positively linked with the different aspects of project success: the competency of the Black Belts team and the management support to the project