Strategic Project Management Systems and Practices in Research and Development Projects: the Case of Ethiopian Roads Administration
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2023-06
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Abstract
The objective of this study is to assess strategic project management systems and practices during initiation, planning and implementation phases of research and development projects and identify the enabling and constraining factors. It focuses on Road Research Center of ERA which is located in Addis Abeba. The variables include organization's strategic intent, top management initiatives, prioritizing projects & selecting implementing strategies, projects alignment with organizational strategy, appointment of R&D project team, R&D management and R&D in the organization with their different elements towards R&D projects benefits and preparation for the future. The type of research approach is descriptive type using case study method. Samples for the questionnaire include researchers working now at RRC, other departments and the sector. Moreover, samples for the semi-structured interview were senior research management staff as key-informants. SPSS was employed to apply ordinary least-squares regression with multiple explanatory variables. The OLS regression result indicated only the two explanatory variables R&D management and R&D in the organization are significant predictors that have positive effect on R&D projects benefits and preparation for the future at RRC. In addition, the correlation value for strategic management and project management aspects also shows low correlation. Therefore, strategic selection, prioritization and alignment of R&D projects with the organizational strategy is recommended by giving attention to talent acquisition in order to streamline strategic project management systems and practices at the Road Research Center of Ethiopian Roads Administration