Dr Simon Addyman wins APM 2019 Herbert Walton Award for best PhD

Dr Addyman was awarded the prize for best PhD at the 2019 APM Awards on 18 November. Learn more about his research in our news article following his nomination.

Dr Simon Addyman, Associate Professor in Project Management at the Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management, has been shortlisted for the Association for Project Management (APM) Herbert Wilson Award for Best PhD 2019 on his research titled The timing of patterning or the patterning of timing? Organisational routines in temporary organisations.

The award shortlisting recognises Simon’s thesis which investigates the co-creation of organisational capability within ‘temporary inter-organisational relationships’ in the construction industry, specifically focusing on the concept of transition. The research aims to understand how temporal and spatial boundaries between the front end development phase and the execution delivery phase of a project influence the (re)creation of patterns of interdependent action between project participants. It particularly looks at transition between life cycle stages, and identifies a five stage recursive process model of transitioning. 

The APM Herbert Walton Award is named after one of APM’s founding members and former chairman and it recognises an exceptional PhD dissertation submitted during the year at Doctorate level.

On being shortlisted, Simon commented: 

Having been awarded the APM Project Professional of the Year Award in 2013, I am delighted to have been shortlisted for this prestigious APM academic award. Undertaking my PhD research at UCL has been one of the most challenging but also one of the most enjoyable experiences of my career in construction project management. The School is a very active and sociable research community to be involved with and I would like to thank my supervisors and colleagues that have shared in this journey with me.

The APM is the chartered body for the project profession and is committed to developing and promoting project and programme management through its FIVE Dimensions of Professionalism. The association has over 28,000 individual members and more than 500 organisations participating in the Corporate Partnership Programme making it the largest professional body of its kind in Europe.

The winner will be announced at the 2019 Awards Ceremony which will take place at Old Billingsgate, London on Monday 18 November 2019.   

Simon is a construction project management professional with over 30 years experience in industry, both overseas and in the UK. He was a project and programme manager with London Underground from 2000 to 2016 before moving to academia. He received his PhD from the Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management in January 2019 and was appointed as Associate Professor in Project Management in March 2019. His PhD research focused on organisational routines in temporary organisations, specifically looking at the concept of ‘transition' and how a construction project organisation (re)created their routines as they moved through the project life cycle. From September 2019, Simon will be the Programme Director for the MSc in Project and Enterprise Management. He continues to engage strongly with industry and is currently supporting Highways England as their Interim Head of Profession for Project Management.