Life should not be about getting used to unfairness, but about how we can create an environment that provides a fairer experience for everyone.
Research funding and collaborative research
Research funding supports innovative academic research to advance the science, theory and practice of project and programme management for the public benefit.
APM offers two main types of research funding: the Research Fund and Commissioned Research. The Research Fund has an annual call and typically funds one-year research studies targeting early-career professionals.
Our Commissioned Research has a larger budget, providing funding for larger-scale studies, targeting experienced academics to develop their research proposals. The call for Commissioned Research will be announced in due course through this website.
APM Research Fund call for applications
Applications are open for APM's Research Fund. Deadline closes Friday 17 May 2024.
APM Research Fund
This year, APM's Research Fund is dedicated to fostering the inclusion of early-career professionals, providing seed funding and support for small-scale research projects. Our focus is on empowering early-career researchers, understood as individuals with around two years of working experience. This may include post-doctoral scholars, assistant professors, lecturers, and those in the early stages of their academic careers. We also welcome applicants in the final stages of their PhD with substantial experience.
Both individual and collaborative proposals are welcomed, as are interdisciplinary projects. Support from senior colleagues from your institution and other higher education institutions is strongly advised.
In addition to funding, APM can support researchers in accessing data and research participants through its corporate members and other key stakeholders interested in participating in cutting-edge research activities. APM can provide a platform for research at its events, publications, and journals. Moreover, APM can support researchers/authors in dissemination activities through the use of our social media channels. Research fund winners will also become part of APM’s research community and will have the opportunity to participate in various networking activities.
Level of funding available
This year, two research proposals will be funded at £10,000 each.
What should the proposal contain and what themes should it address?
Submissions are currently open and should be received before 17 May 2024, focusing on our research interests for 2024:
1) Skills development and the future of the profession in relation to:
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- Artificial Intelligence
- Data and Analytics
- Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives
2) The politics of projects: How do political decisions impact project delivery?
3) Economic impact on projects – What is the true value/benefit of project delivery?
Important dates
- Applications Deadline: 17 May 2024
- Research proposals will be reviewed between 17 May and 21 June 2024
- Results Announcement: 28 June 2024
Any changes to these deadlines will be announced through the research website.
Submission details
Full details, including how to apply, assessment criteria, and deadlines, can be found in the Research fund guidelines and, please use the Research proposal template to make your submission.
Please email your completed Research Proposal Template and CV to research@apm.org.uk with the subject line “APM Research Fund Application 2024”.
We look forward to receiving innovative proposals that contribute to the advancement of project management and promote inclusion within our research community.
Commissioned research
Commissioned studies aim to address emergent themes, knowledge gaps, and answer some of the significant questions for the project profession.
These studies represent the flagship activity of APM’s research program and are among the most downloaded and influential of all APM publications.
Collaborative research
APM is open to collaborative research opportunities. If you have any proposals that align with , are relevant for future editions of the APM Body of Knowledge, and could benefit APM’s members and the wider project management community, please contact the research team.
Please be aware that APM typically does not provide financial support for collaborative opportunities but offers other forms of assistance instead.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Developing Effective Interventions for Gender Equality in UK Construction Project Organisations
Our research highlights the gender equality challenges in construction project organisations in the UK and offers scientific knowledge on effective interventions for gender equality in the sector. This report provides practical next steps to improve the work environment, particularly considering the experiences of women and non-cisgender men, who continue to face gender bias, sexism, and discrimination in their workplace.
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FEATURED RESEARCH
The Blind Spot
Since 2018, this study has set out to explore whether the project management profession was ready to address Grand Challenges. This is because the political legitimacy of a newly chartered profession in society depends on the extent to which it contributes to addressing challenges, such as climate change, poverty, lack of sanitation, healthcare, human space exploration and blockchain
FEATURED RESEARCH
The Relationship Between The Board of Directors’ Social Capital and Construction Firms’ Environmental Profiles 
Our study conducted by Azar Shahgholian and David Bryde (Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool) takes the first step in providing data-driven evidence of the power of the social network in enhancing organisational performance relating to achieving environmental sustainability goals in a project-intensive industry sector.
Previous featured research
How to use AI technology in project management has had a lot of attention recently and the impact of AI has become a popular topic to debate when predicting the future of the project profession.
Previous research fund studies
Sustainability: Inclusive storytelling to aid sustainable development goals
The practice of sustainability involves understanding the ways individuals and teams in projects and organisations respond to the sustainability targets set nationally and internationally.
Can artificial intelligence learn to be a project professional?
PwC reported that “Gartner forecasts that 80% of project management roles will be eliminated by 2030 as AI takes on traditional project management functions such as data collection, tracking and reporting.”
Eliminating modern slavery from projects
This research aims to raise awareness of modern slavery within projects and to understand how project practices need to change to eliminate it.
The wellbeing of project professionals
The awareness of mental health and wellbeing issues in societies is increasing. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s report shows the whole of Europe is struggling with the burden of mental ill health, which affects an estimated 84 million people – one in six.
Quantification of social benefits on public and third sector projects
This research project is a critical evaluation of current methods used by project planners and evaluators in the public and third sectors to quantify social benefits and costs.
How can we handover projects better?
How do we improve the transition of a project from the project team delivering in a project life cycle to the end users’ business as usual activities, to ensure the realisation of the benefits the project set out to achieve?
Scaled Agile project management
A study on the practical adoption of agile methodologies this study aims to investigate the level of practical adoption of those programme and portfolio components addressed by Scaled Agile methodologies.
Strategies for dealing with difficult stakeholders
This research project focuses on the psycho-social aspects of project management and specifically on how project managers cope with difficult stakeholders.
How is systems thinking used in projects?
This study builds on the work used to establish the Systems Thinking SIG as they seek to identify the range of activities classified as systems thinking and how these are seen to add value to projects.
This research has sought to draw out project leadership competences from the perspective of practising project leaders, aspiring project leaders, heads of profession, project sponsors and clients.
Understanding leadership in the context of transformation projects
This research aims to advance understandings of individual, team and organisation-wide leadership capabilities for successfully delivering transformation projects, and ways in which they can be fostered.
Capturing and evaluating individual and social factors that influence critical project decisions
The study seeks to increase project management knowledge in three interrelated areas; firstly, identifying how decision-makers actually make decisions in the complex situations they encounter during a project’s life.
This research project aims to address the representation of women in the leadership of major projects. It forms part of a broader action research programme (ARPL) on the leadership and delivery of major projects.