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New Centre to help tackle Olympic-sized challenges

How do you plan, run and manage an Olympic Games? It is a question for London 2012 and one that other major world cities will be asking in the future. And for answers, they will soon be able to draw on the expertise of a new University centre.

The traditional tools and techniques are no longer sufficient for the complex task of major programme management

Detailed planning got underway in April for the world’s first teaching and research centre for Major Programme Management, which will be a joint venture between BT and the Saïd Business School (SBS). The new BT Centre will develop and carry out a programme of leading-edge and multidisciplinary research, bringing together the expertise within the SBS and the broader University, by drawing on departments such as engineering, computer science and law, and engaging with eminent practitioners from the global business community.

The centre is also developing a groundbreaking teaching programme which will lead to an MSc in Major Programme Management planned for launch in Autumn 2008, subject to University approval. It will be a part-time course, with students working intensively in Oxford for one week at a time, and with preparation and assignments completed while they are in their regular jobs. The course is aimed at project managers and other professionals who have already had some experience working with programmes and who are keen to develop their career in that direction. Engineers, lawyers, consultants, project managers and finance experts will study alongside each other, learning about each others’ expertise, sharing their insights and experience and combining academic intellectual rigour with case studies and workshops supported by practitioner teachers. The course will consist of eight modules, covering commercial, legal, systems-engineering, international, management and leadership aspects of major programmes, followed by a 10,000-word dissertation based on a student’s project work.

The recently unveiled design for the 2012 London Olympic Stadium. The BT Centre for Major Programme Management will support research into the management of complex, high value projects such
The recently unveiled design for the 2012 London Olympic Stadium. The BT Centre for Major Programme Management will support research into the management of complex, highvalue projects such as the Olympics

‘In recent years there has been a proliferation of major programme management challenges for both private and public sectors, ranging from government ICT systems of ever-increasingcomplexity, through major building projects like Terminal 5, to global sporting occasions such as the Olympics’, says Mike Love, Communication Director, Major Programmes for BT. ‘These programmes are characterised by being complex, high-value, long-term projects. Typically, their outcome impacts millions of people and the prestige and success of governments and corporations. Yet there is still a shortage of rigorous, empirically grounded and intellectually robust support for this discipline.’

The need for this more rigorous approach was emphasised by the results of a survey carried out by the SBS of more than 100 UK-based project and programme managers. It found that 48 per cent of programmes were incorrectly bid, 23 per cent did not effectively identify milestones and fewer than 50 per cent had any formal audits scheduled. Especially telling from the viewpoint of the new centre was the finding that 60 per cent of the managers surveyed felt that the present level of educational activity in the field is inadequate for their needs.

Professor Colin Mayer, Dean of SBS, says: ‘The field of Major Programme Management now requires leading-edge research which takes into account the latest understanding of best practice in the area. We envisage that the BT Centre will create a community of knowledge and will provide a resource for practitioners to locate the latest thinking on specialist topics. One of the priorities of the new centre will be the dissemination of its work to the widest possible audience through publications, case studies, workshops, executive education and events.’

The BT Centre is expected to be fully operational in 2008, led by a Director and a BT Professor of Major Programme Management, with further research appointments to follow. Already an internationally recognised telecommunications leader, BT is transforming its business globally to become an integrated IT services leader. As part of this transformation, BT has developed industry-leading experience and expertise in major programmes management through the successful delivery of public sector major programmes. The new centre will draw on this bank of skills and on those of many other leaders in the field.In welcoming the establishment of the new centre, the Vice- Chancellor Dr John Hood said: ‘This is an outstanding illustration of the potential that exists in the University of Oxford for the business community and academia to come together to carry out groundbreaking, multidisciplinary research of great practical relevance.’ 

Anthony Venables, Chief Economist at the Department of International Development, London and Professor of International Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, was appointed BP Professor of Economics and Director of the Oxford Centre for the Analysis of Rich Resource Economies. He is a Fellow of New College.

New appointment 

Economics

Anthony Venables, Chief Economist at the Department of International Development, London and Professor of International Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, was appointed BP Professor of Economics and Director of the Oxford Centre for the Analysis of Rich Resource Economies. He is a Fellow of New College.