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An investigation into the key competencies for a project manager to possess in green construction in the UK

  • Year of Publication:
  • 2022

The principal aim of the study was to identify the key competencies for a Project Manager to possess in UK Green Construction. Project Manager competencies and UK Green  Construction were chosen, due to their absence in literature and the UK Government’s recent commitment of the Construction Industry to Net Zero emissions by 2050, of which both the Project Management Institute (2022) and Association for Project Management (2021), have contested the central role of construction Project Managers’ to achieve.

The study employed the Delphi-Method to attain the subjective opinion of 19 Construction Industry ‘experts’, on the Top 20 Key Competencies for UK Green Construction PMs. This was achieved through four rounds of iterative surveys’, by which Delphi-Group consensus was achieved. Structured Follow-up Interviews were then undertaken with three of the Delphiexperts, to explore the appropriateness of these competencies in UK Green Construction practice. The data attained from the Delphi-method, was analysed using Kendall’s W and Mean Ranking, whilst the Structured Follow-up interviews were analysed using Thematic Analysis.

The findings have identified the following twenty key competencies, in order of Delphiimportance, for UK Green Construction PMs: Sustainable Resource Management, Leadership, Cost Management, Quality Management, Integration Management, Adaptability, Sustainable Technical Expertise, HR Management, Communication, Time Management, Risk Management, Scope Management, Procurement Management, Organisation, Stakeholder Management, Emotional Intelligence, Flexibility, Delegation, Problem Solving and Negotiation. Furthermore, key findings from the Structured Interviews corroborated the appropriateness of these competencies, through the following themes: Increased stakeholder involvement; higher costs, quality standards and subcontractor social sustainability demands; Green construction technology; New Building regulations and Government legislation.

The Construction Industry should use these practical findings of the key competencies, to strategically employ, train or design project strategies for UK Green Construction Project Managers’. Recommendation is also made that government organisations who wish to support the Construction Industry in achieving Net Zero by 2050, utilise the key competencies findings, to aid the development of training initiatives and strategy plans; deemed significant, due the findings being attained by industry ‘experts’ using the Delphi Method.

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