Vol 13, No 2 (2008)
October
Table of Contents
Research Profile
Dr. Janice Thomas
The projectification of organizations is a world wide phenomenon. We hear project management is a core management skill for all sorts of organizations, but is project management bringing the value to organizations that its prevalence seems to suggest it should? For the past three years Janice Thomas has been leading a highly regarded international team of management researchers on a quest for value, precisely to investigate what is going on in organizations in the name of project management and how this influences their bottom line and their perception of value. This particular quest, called Researching the Value of Project Management, is of great interest to the business community, so much so that it was funded ($1.16 million USD) by one of the leading professional bodies in management (The Project Management Institute, PMI). All told, with donations in kind and leveraged funds, the project is valued at over of $2.5 million.
Leading international research on this scale is an exercise in co-ordination, patience, cultural understanding and above all communication. In order to achieve coherent cross case analysis the research team had to ensure use of a common research model and tool set (which were derived in the first stage of the project and refined after the second pilot stage). In recognition of the status of these leading researchers there was also opportunity to collect data following their own research lines. Janice and the other researchers studied 65 organizations on four continents to collect an extensive database. Empirical data was collected on what organizations think they do and what they actually do in the name of project management, and what value they gain from these project management investments. The synthesis of theories surrounding value realization was grounded in a mixed method integrated analysis of context and implementation measured across various value drivers.
Janice is now tasked with moving forward AU's new Research Institute into Project Management. Janice proposes that research institutes, such as this, have great potential in facilitating both international research collaborations and industry/research partnerships to develop new knowledge and encourage the transfer of ideas and knowledge. Building from the active research network that participated in the Researching the Value of Project Management project and linking with other international research networks such as the EU's NETLIPSE research project tasked with improving transportation infrastructure projects, AU's project management research institute will encourage learning and knowledge transfer between the academy and industry. Janice's international academic collaborations over the recent years (such as; EPSRC Rethinking Project Management network in the UK and visiting prof. at Bond University in Australia) and her bridge building from academy to practice (Research Advisory Committee for PMI; keynote speaker PMI research conferences and PMI chapter meetings, volunteer efforts for the IPMA and role in executive development for large scale international organizations) set a firm foundation for the work of the research institute in project management.
The initial story of the quest for value has been documented by Janice (and her co-lead, Mark Mullaly, PMP) in the form of a research monograph, published by PMI in October 2008. Many more insight from the research team's own researcher perspectives are expected to be forthcoming in the next few years, as analysis of this extremely rich data set continues.
External Funding
Tri-Council News
For those interested in applying to SSHRC, NSERC or CIHR for funding this Fall, please note the internal deadlines as follows:
SSHRC: Internal Deadlines
- Strategic Knowledge Clusters: November 6th
- Canada Graduate Scholarship Program: December 1st
For details on these programs and other SSHRC Funding Opportunities, please visit Complete List of SSHRC Programs
NSERC: Internal Deadlines
For details on NSERC Funding Opportunities, please visit Application Deadlines and Notification of Decision.
CIHR: Internal Deadlines
For details on NSERC Funding Opportunities, please visit ResearchNet.
If you are planning to apply for external funding, please consult the Research Administator and Events Coordinator at least one month prior to submission deadline.
Opportunities
Internal deadlines for external applications are set 2 to 3 weeks prior to the funder’s deadline to allow time for review of the submission to ensure that guidelines are followed, budgets are reviewed, and institutional signatures are attained prior to submission to the funder.
PROVINCIAL
The University Research and Strategic Investments branch of Alberta Innovation and Science coordinates grant funding processes for the Alberta Science and Research Investments Program, Research Excellence Envelope and other ASRA grant programs. See information on Funding Organizations and Programs.
Alberta Ingenuity supports the highest quality basic and applied research in science and engineering disciplines through its awards programs. These programs are developed in conjunction with the international Science and Engineering Advisory Council and the Alberta research community to maintain the competitiveness of Alberta’s universities, colleges and technical institutes and to help recruit bright new researchers and encourage scientific leaders to stay in the province. Further information can be found in the About Us section.
FEDERAL
- Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) – Good news! CFI has announced that there will be another Innovation Fund competition. Details to be published shortly on the CFI website and will be disseminated through the research academic alias.
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) – Standard Research Grants are due to SSHRC October 15th of every year but SSHRC offers many other funding programs.
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) – CIHR has many funding programs in the area of health research.
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) – Discovery Grants are due to NSERC November 1st of every year. NSERC offers many other funding programs too – have a look!
Watch for updates and deadline information to be circulated through the research_academic alias.
If you are planning to apply for external funding, please consult the Research Administator and Events Coordinator at least one month prior to submission deadline.
Currently Funded Research
- Dr. Dragan Gasevic has been awarded funding from the Alberta Ingenuity Fund. Dr. Gasevic will receive funding over the next three years for a project entitled, “Model-Driven Development of Families of Semantically-enabled Service-oriented Architectures”
Researchers in the News
Dr. Kam Judgev, Associate Professor of Project Management at the Centre for Innovative Management, has received a prestigious Erasmus Mundus MSPME (MSc in Strategic Project Management – European) Scholarship for 2007/08. Erasmus Mundus is a European Union-sponsored program, offered to non-European citizens to increase the recognition of excellent universities in Europe, to improve quality and mobility for students and scholars, and to promote the European area on the global market. Dr. Jugdev received a visiting scholar award and will spend six weeks doing research and teaching project management courses at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, one of the program’s member institutions. Erasmus Mundus scholarships are renowned for promoting international collaboration in higher education, and for attracting applicants from all over the world. The committee acknowledged Dr. Judgev’s strong academic expertise in “project management research and teaching," as well as her “innovative approaches to higher education in project management." Dr. Jugdev was selected from a long list of highly qualified candidates with strong academic profiles, valuable experiences and relevant research orientation. Her personal commitment to scholarship in project management, and the "possibility to develop strong potential collaborative links through the scholarship period" were also cited as key factors in her selection.
Internal Funding
Opportunities
AU Academic and Professional Development Fund
The deadline for applications to the A&PDF for activities occurring in the 3rd quarter of the 2008/09 fiscal year (October, November, and December) was September 1st, 2008.
Application forms for the next A&PDF competition are available from the Research Centre and on the Intranet under Forms/Research.
AU Academic Research Fund
The deadline for applications for the current round of Academic Research Fund (ARF) competition was September 10th, 2008.
AU Mission Critical Research Fund
The deadline for applications for the current round of Mission Critical Research (MCR) competition was September 10th, 2008.
Application forms are available from the Research Centre and on the Intranet under Forms/Research. The next round of competition will take place in the 2009/10 fiscal year with a deadline of February 10th, 2008.
Research Ethics
Ethics in Human Research
RESEARCH ETHICS REVIEW SCHEDULE
The Research Ethics Board (REB) meets monthly, and the regular application deadline is the first Friday of each month. Student researcher applications should be submitted anytime, as they may qualify for expedited review.
Expedited review is only available if it is minimal risk research. At this time, expedited review for non-student researchers is not available as a regular service; faculty and professional staff researchers are expected to plan their projects accordingly. Approvals take an 'average' of one month dependent from date of application. (Some take more, some take less.) To be safe, applicants should not expect to start the project until at least the middle of the next month after application.
For an application to move smoothly through the process, be sure to follow the application guidelines, answer all questions completely, and provide all the necessary documentation.
Research Ethics application forms, guidelines, and resource links can be found at the Research Centre.
BASIC HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS RESOURCES
- The "Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Researchers Involving Humans (TCPS)" is the guiding document for human research ethics in Canada, and can be found online at: http://pre.ethics.gc.ca/english/policystatement/policystatement.cfm
- The AU REB highly recommends that all levels of AU researchers complete the national "Online Introductory Tutorial on the TCPS". The entire tutorial, which includes case studies and self-evaluation, takes three or more hours to complete in one sitting and provides a basic understanding of the Canadian guidelines and principles of ethical research with humans. By registering at the site, you can come and go from the tutorial and the program will keep track of what portions have been finished; that way you can break up the training into bite-size pieces to be completed at your own convenience. Upon completion, a certificate is issued which is recognized across Canada. The tutorial can be found at: http://pre.ethics.gc.ca/english/tutorial/
For further information please contact the Research Ethics Administrator.
Presentations
Lunch 'N' Learn
The Research Centre hosts noon hour sessions at AU Central for all to attend. Lunch ‘N’ Learn sessions will be up and running again in September.
The application deadline to present during the 2008-09 season was extended to August 1 and the schedule is now set:
| Date of Presentation | Presenter | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|
22-Oct-08 |
Dr. Roland Treu |
"Land of the Unexpected Impressions from Papau, New Guinea" |
12-Nov-08 |
Doug Kariel and |
"The Canadian Census: All you wanted to know and were afraid to ask" |
For those still interested in this opportunity, please contact Alice at alicet@athabascau.ca as there are still spots available.
For more information regarding a specific presentation, or to volunteer to present, contact the Administrative Assistant in the Research Office.
Upcoming Events
Conferences and Workshops
THE RESEARCH CENTRE IS COMMITTED TO ORGANIZING ONE MAJOR RESEARCH CONFERENCE PER YEAR AS WELL AS RESEARCH-RELATED WORKSHOPS/ SEMINARS
For example, AU hosted mLearn 2006 in Banff, AB, October 19-22nd as well as Moodlemoot 2007 in Edmonton, AB, May 5-7th.
OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS, THE RESEARCH OFFICE HAS OFFERED THE FOLLOWING WORKSHOPS TO INTERESTED FACULTY:
Research Services hosted a SSHRC Grant Writing session with SSHRC program officers, Meaghan Harris and Michele Dupuis. This session was offered through illuminate as well as teleconference from Athabasca University-Edmonton Campus.
Research Services hosted an NSERC Grant Writing session with NSERC program officers, Kevin Lapoint and Kenn LaPlante on September 16th. This session was offered through teleconference from Athabasca University – Athabasca.
November 16-18th, 2008
Research Services along with the School of Computing and Information Systems and IEEE, is hosting Digitel 2008 in Banff, AB. This is an international conference which focuses on digital game and intelligent toy based education. Program and registration information are now available online.