Juliano Denicol wins IPMA Young Researcher Award for his research in megaproject delivery

Dr Juliano Denicol, a lecturer in Project Management at the Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management, has been awarded the International Project Management Associations (IPMA) Young Researcher Award for his research project Designing Client Organisations and Supply Chain Strategies to Deliver Megaprojects. 

The research explores the formation and evolution of megaproject client organisations, which are new, dedicated and often temporary entities created to deliver a project on behalf of the sponsor. This is explored in the context of the course of global infrastructure forecasted for the next ten years. The research has been instrumental in improving our understanding of how megaproject client organisations are structured and make strategic decisions to engage with the supply chain.

Six megaprojects that currently represent a combined investment of £93.93 bn were analysed as part of the research: three in real time - Crossrail, Thames Tideway Tunnel and High Speed 2 and three retrospectively - High Speed 1, Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 and the London 2012 Olympics.

Juliano developed a conceptual framework, the Project System Organisation, which sheds light onto the megaproject multi-layer and multi-level organisational structure, identifying multiple organisational roles and responsibilities. It advances the understanding of the terminologies of owners, sponsors, clients and operators in megaprojects, as well as the dynamics of its non-static and evolutionary nature throughout the project life-cycle, unpacking who does what, when, how and why.

The research is expected to have a significant impact on the sector. It creates a dialogue between theory and practice to address society’s challenges and provides insights not only to understand the problem, but also to inform potential solutions to megaproject delivery. It provides practical guidance for megaproject promoters, policy makers and practitioners in their strategic decisions in the front-end of those projects, increasing the knowledge of innovative structures to design the client organisation (intra-organisational) and the supply chain architecture (inter-organisational).

Juliano commented,

I’m honoured and delighted to receive the 2019 IPMA Young Researcher Award! This is a fantastic recognition that will work as a platform to engage with the IPMA members and world leading scholars to produce further rigorous and impactful research. Special thanks to Professor Andrew Davies and Professor Stephen Pryke for their continuous support and insightful research discussions.

The IPMA is a federation of more than 70 member associations globally. The awards celebrate outstanding project management achievements. A record number of applicants entered the competition and up to 21 judges were involved in the evaluation of the applications according to the following criteria: research results achieved, originality, theoretical foundation, transparency and professionalism of the research processes and methodologies, practical relevance, recognition and/or influential impact on further research on project management.

The research will be presented during a special session of the 7th IPMA Global Research Conference in Zagreb, Croatia. The Awards will be handed out at the Gala accompanying the Congress on 6 September.

Juliano is a Lecturer in Project Management in the School of Construction and Project Management, the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, UCL. Juliano’s research explores client organisations and inter-organisational structures in six iconic UK megaprojects: High Speed 1, Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, London 2012 Olympics, Crossrail, Thames Tideway Tunnel, and High Speed 2. His work on megaprojects has been regarded of high global impact, receiving research awards from the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the Major Projects Association (MPA). Juliano has received the 2019 Best Reviewer Award from the Project Organising track of the European Academy of Management (EURAM). Juliano has worked as a supply chain management consultant at High Speed 2, the largest infrastructure project in Europe, and advisor to the European Commission on public procurement policies.