In this article Terry Simister explains the background behind the initiative led by the Institute of Risk Management to establish recognised British and International standards…
Abstract
In this article Terry Simister explains the background behind the initiative led by the Institute of Risk Management to establish recognised British and International standards for the practice of risk management. He discusses the historical development of the concept of risk management and how that led to recognition of the need to create a profession to deal with all its aspects. He analyses the difficulties in providing a comprehensive definition of risk management and the difficulties there have been in reaching agreement in the international arena. He concludes with an overview of the forces which make an agreed standard a necessity.
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Hang Vo, Richard John Kirkham, Terry Mervyn Williams, Amanda Howells, Rick Forster and Terry Cooke-Davies
Effective and robust governance of major projects and programmes in the public sector is crucial to the accountability of the state and the transparency of state spending. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Effective and robust governance of major projects and programmes in the public sector is crucial to the accountability of the state and the transparency of state spending. The theoretical discourse on governance, in the context of projects and programmes, is not fully mature, although is now sufficiently well developed to warrant an increased scholarly focus on practice. This paper aims to contribute to the empirical literature through a study of assurance routines in the UK Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).
Design/methodology/approach
A framework analysis approach to the evaluation of a subset of GMPP database generates original insights into (1) the framing of assurance review recommendations, (2) the treatment of assurance review data and (3) the subsequent tracking of the implementation of actions arising from the assurance review process.
Findings
The analysis reveals that the “delivery confidence” of the major projects and programmes included in this study improves during the time that they are assured on the GMPP. This would suggest that “enhanced” governance routines are desirable in programmes and projects that exhibit high degrees of complexity and scale.
Originality/value
The research findings contribute to the wider conversations in this journal and elsewhere on project governance routines and governance-as-practice in the context of government and public services.