Strategic Project Management in Nigerian Public Research Organisations: The Gap in Practice

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the application of strategic project management SPM in Nigerian public research organisations. A case study approach involving four R and D organisations in Nigeria was used. A total of 213 questionnaires were retrieved and these were analysed using quantitative research software, SPSS version 21. The results revealed that 95 per cent of respondents acknowledged that projects executed by public research organisations were planned, but the conventional project management practices were used instead of strategic project management SPM principles. In addition, it was found that the level of implementation of the project management practices were also inadequately implemented as such affected the organisation's performance adversely. As established in this study, the concept of strategy is changing and to address the factors that affect research and development project implementation, senior project practitioners need to pay more attention to strategic, operational and project risks.