24 January 2016
Recommendations focused on management of knowledge, leadership, innovation and corporate projects

Faridoon: Recommendations enrich the concept of project management across the UAE and the region

Roads and Transport Authority - Majdi Abu Zaid: Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has revealed the findings of the 2nd Dubai International Project Management Forum (DIPMF) organized under the theme of "Project Management Supports Innovation." The event was held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council, and opened by HH Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. This edition was kindly sponsored by Dubai Holding, Falconcity of Wonders, Wade Adams, Parsons, Kanoo Group, Madinat Jumeirah, Etihad Rail, and Systra Company.

Ms. Laila Faridoon, Executive Director of the Office of the Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, cum Chairperson of the Organizing Committee of the Forum, said: "The success of the 2nd DIPMF had been reflected by the intense participation from all over the globe including international speakers, business leaders, discussion panels, and quality lectures. The event concluded to a host of key recommendations and findings aimed to support and enrich the concept of project management in the UAE and the region.

"Recommendations of the Forum focused on a host of key topics namely: leadership, innovation, knowledge management, and corporate project management. As regards leadership, the Forum recommended that the role of the leader is to unleash innovative ideas amongst work teams, nurture a working environment conducive to innovation by promoting corporate innovation, and staging tailor-made projects to hone the skills of project patrons considering them an integral part of projects success. The leader has also got to be involved in the detailed project management, pay occasional visits to work sites to meet the working team, and gain access to diverse sources of information.

"As for innovation, the Forum stressed that adopting a flexible project management approach is the optimal model for managing innovation projects, besides focusing on obtaining an added value rather than a try and error method. It was also stressed here that corporate entities must develop a clear-cut definition of innovation and link it with project management. Recommendations called for the corporate development of innovation, and the dissemination of knowledge to encourage employees to engage in positive practices of project management. Corporate entities were also urged to step up partnerships with research units, societies and universities to align their practices with the latest scientific developments and research findings," explained Faridoon.

Regarding the management of corporate projects, Faridoon said: "The Forum concluded that realizing benefits has to be part & parcel of success perimeters of projects, and accordingly there must be a well-defined regulatory framework to assess these deliverables in an objective and standardized manner. Recommendations must include setting standards for measuring the maturity of corporate projects, extent of learning, and degree of innovation. Entities have to chart out well-defined procedures for tracking projects through Project Management Offices rather than merely conducting project management procedures. Additionally, entities have to accord significant attention to coordination between projects and operations to achieve bigger successes.

"The findings underscore the global attention to the DIPMF, which attracts elite representatives of business industries worldwide. RTA would make every endeavor to realize these recommendations in order to advance the concept of project management in Dubai that is viewed as a key component of strategic projects in the region and beyond. These recommendations would also serve as a prelude for the third edition of the event to be held later this year 2016," concluded Faridoon.

Cadre

·        The 2nd DIPMF comprised 33 sessions including 5 key speeches, 5 discussion panels, 18 concurrent sessions, and 5 workshops. These events constituted a 13% rise on events held in 2014 edition.

·        The 2nd DIPMF attracted 54 keynote speakers, and more than 1400 delegates from 28 countries, reflecting 17% increase when compared to 2014 edition.

·        The success rate assessed by attendants of the Forum was 8.2 out of 10.

-Ends-

© Press Release 2016