APM Podcast (APM, the chartered body for the project profession)

In this episode, hosted by Mike Hine, online editor for APM’s Project journal, we’re looking at communication for project professionals.

Communication is a vital condition for project success. However well-planned, a project will not run smoothly if stakeholders are left confused and under-informed as a consequence of inefficient communication. With an ever-growing array of comms tools at their disposal, the project manager has some important decisions to make – as well as timing their communications properly, they need to ensure the methods they deploy are appropriate for the message and the audience. Projects of all sizes therefore need to have a communication strategy – particularly those which are complex or have a large number of stakeholders.

Joining the podcast for this episode are:

• Ann Pilkington, co-founder and director of PR Academy, a provider of education and training in communication
• Tim Lyons, a programme and project manager working on large system and infrastructure programmes; and a member of the APM People SIG committee
• Elizabeth Harrin, who has over 20 years’ experience in leading IT, business change and process improvement projects across financial services and healthcare

Resources:

• Communication planning white paper, by Ann and Tim
• Engaging stakeholders on projects – How to harness people power, by Elizabeth

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Professor Adam Boddison in conversation with the Head of the Government Property Profession, Lynda Rawsthorne. Sitting within the Cabinet Office, Lynda is responsible for the strategy for the whole government estate, which covers everything from hospitals to courts and offices. She describes her role as engaging, encouraging and motivating the 7,000-plus professionals who make up the property profession in government.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

Emma meets Daniel Armanios, BT Professor of Major Programme Management at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, and Zack Swafford, co-founder of Dart, a San Francisco-based start-up whose project management tool uses artificial intelligence (AI) to assist with brainstorming, roadmap planning and report generation, among other tasks.

The pair consider the rapid developments in AI over the past year and speculate on what 2025 might hold. Listen on to hear their thoughts on the exciting potential of AI, their worries about the technology and their advice on what you should be doing to get to grips with this work revolution.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

In this episode, Emma De Vita, editor of Project, meets Marcos Fuentes, recipient of APM’s 2022 Festival of Education and Research award for Doctorate of the Year.

The focus of his thesis was how to co-create value for the long term, from the project planning stage and then throughout the development cycle of a project. The thesis originally established eight ways to achieve wider sustainable value, such as social, environmental, experiential and emotional elements beyond traditional short-term criteria such as time and cost.

Marcos originally hails from Mexico, and spent a decade in the US and Europe, including six years in London, but recently returned to Mexico to work for its National Audit Office, where he is a Strategic Adviser. He is an Honorary Researcher at University College London, at the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, with a focus on the exploration of megaprojects in the Latin American market, of which he has first-hand knowledge.

In this podcast, Marcos first shares his practical advice for project professionals based on his award-winning PhD findings, and second, shares his expertise from the world of challenging megaprojects in Latin America.

Emma meets four project professionals who volunteer for APM's Women in Project Management (WiPM) Interest Network. They have all found their own unique path to a career in project management. They share their experience of switching sectors and coming to project management from a non-traditional career path – and give plenty of advice on how to successfully find your own way up the career ladder. They are:

• Irene Maposa, Chair of APM's WiPM Interest Network and Visiting Lecturer at the University of East London
• Chibuzo Ikeh, Project Manager at RJ Emmanuel
• Rochelle Sampson-Clarke, Business Intelligence Project Manager at the NHS
• Nadia Krasteva, Legal Project Manager at Sackers

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Emma meets Carmel McConnell MBE – a change activist and keynote speaker at the upcoming APM Conference on 8 June in Birmingham. Carmel founded the charity Magic Breakfast; she is a tech entrepreneur, mentor to CEOs and best-selling author of Change Activist: Make Big Things Happen Fast.

Find out more about the APM Conference at www.apm.org.uk/apm-conference/

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

APM CEO Professor Adam Boddison invites outgoing APM President Sue Kershaw and her successor Yvonne Thompson CBE to hand over the baton.

Sue shares her reflections on the biggest project management trends over her time in the hotseat, from managing greater project complexity and going from megaprojects to gigaprojects, to being able to deliver on promises and the need for greater connectivity.

Yvonne takes the opportunity to set out her ambitious priorities, including focusing on diversity and inclusion, sustainability and AI.

How do we prepare today for success tomorrow, she asks.

Listen on to find out more. Get in touch: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

In our From the Frontline season, Project journal editor Emma De Vita is meeting professionals who are working on cutting-edge projects, and academics whose research is at the forefront of project management techniques.

In this first episode, we meet Nick Elliott, who was director general of the UK’s Vaccine Taskforce for the UK government from its inception in April 2020 until the end of last year. Before that he was an army bomb disposal expert, MD of Network Rail’s national supply chain and deputy CEO of Defence Equipment & Support at the Ministry of Defence. He is now a director at consultancy Turner & Townsend and a Fellow of APM.

Nick and Emma spoke in early May about the brief he was handed at the UK Vaccine Taskforce – ‘to make things happen’, which must surely be the understatement of the year.

Contracts create legally binding obligations between the parties involved in a project. They describe the nature of those obligations and the actions that can be taken if they are not met. As such, the contract is a foundational document whose content will come to define the project and how the work unfolds. It is there to provide certainty and protection to the parties. But in a post-COVID world, there may be an opportunity for contracts to be used to create ongoing collaborative relationships, rather than simply defining strict requirements and being regarded as a tool to give parties leverage in the event of acrimony.

To find out a bit more, Project journal’s online editor Mike Hine spoke to two experts:

• Sarah Schutte of Schutte Consulting Limited, an independent solicitor-advocate and consultant; and
• Richard Cairnes, director at Currie & Brown’s London project and programme management team.

Further reading:

• The first instalment of Sarah’s webinar series for APM’s Contracts and Procurement SIG can be found here, and for information on part two (14 September), click here.
• Read Richard’s latest APM blog here.
• Read the APM Contracts and Procurement SIG white paper Procuring for Agile Projects here.

Contact apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Emma meets Adrian Dooley, who has 45 years’ experience in project management. Adrian started out his career as a construction project manager, later becoming involved in developing software applications for construction. In 1984, he set up the Projects Group as a training and consultancy company. He was one of the founders of Project Manager Today magazine and served as an executive council member of APM. He is the founder and lead author of the Praxis Framework. In this podcast, he shares how, in his experience, many fads rise to prominence and then become integrated into good practice. He believes agile will follow that same path.

Get in touch: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

As governments worldwide set targets on reaching net-zero carbon, project professionals are being tasked with rethinking working practices to cut emissions. Everything from planning to procurement to team structures is being re-evaluated to meet sustainability targets. But it’s worth remembering that sustainability encompasses more than climate change. It means balancing the environmental, social, economic and administrative aspects of projects to meet current stakeholder needs, without compromising the needs of future generations.

Far from being an additional burden on project professionals, sustainability presents an opportunity for them to demonstrate their value in aligning with corporate strategic objectives around net zero. By embedding sustainability within every aspect of their projects, project professionals can make a big difference and boost their visibility to the organisation’s leadership.

In this episode, Mike Hine, online editor for APM’s Project journal, speaks to three experts working in the field of sustainability to find out more:

• Paul Mansell, independent major projects adviser
• Giulia Jones, sustainability manager, Mace
• Stuart Johnson, director, Stuart Johnson Consulting

Further reading:

• Find out more on APM’s resources page
• Prof Peter Morris, Climate Change and what the project profession should be doing about it: a UK perspective
• Projecting the Future, challenge paper 2, Climate Change, Clean Growth and Sustainability

Get in touch at apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

In ‘From the Frontline’, Project journal editor Emma De Vita meets project professionals who are working on cutting-edge projects, and academics whose research is at the forefront of project management techniques.

In this episode we meet Dr Natalie Marguet, a senior lecturer in leadership and organisational development at Liverpool John Moores University, and author of APM’s recent research paper Detect, Reflect and Adapt: Factors influencing critical project decisions.

In this podcast, she shares the latest research into how project professionals can improve their decision-making. She’ll be giving practical advice on how you can become more effective in your work using simple techniques, as well as helping you to understand your personal decision-making style, how to adopt new styles and when to use them.

Bad decision-making on projects has been identified as one of the key reasons for poor project performance, so every project manager has room for improvement and can learn from this new research.

Emma speaks to leadership and management expert Jo Owen and Andy Alder, Managing Director of Major Infrastructure Delivery at Anglian Water, about how to delegate. It’s something every project manager or leader needs to understand and practise successfully if they want their teams to achieve things. So, Jo and Andy give us their insider dos and don’ts so that you can hone your mindset and learn how to delegate better. Listen for advice and practical tips that you can use in your projects right away.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

Professor Adam Boddison meets Baroness Valentine. Having started out working in corporate finance in the City in the 1980s, in recent years Baroness Valentine has had what she describes as a “portfolio career”. Her current roles include Chair of Heathrow Southern Railway and Co-Director of Place at Business in the Community. As of 2005, she also sits in the House of Lords as a cross-bench member, with a current focus on levelling up. She was also formerly on the boards of both Crossrail and HS2.  

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

In this episode, Emma meets Jo Jolly, Deputy Director and Head of Project Futures at the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, who recently spoke at APM's Change Changes conference. Everything is touched by projects, Jo told the audience. The UN Sustainable Development Goals should be actions for all our projects: we can do these things if we want to. Listen to hear Jo share how project delivery can be transformed for the better by embracing data and human collaboration and so improve society and all our lives.  

Resources: 

• Project Data Analytics Community Solutions Portal: https://www.solutions.projectingsuccess.co.uk/ 

• Transforming Infrastructure Performance: Roadmap to 2030: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-infrastructure-performance-roadmap-to-2030 

• ‘Boston tidal barrier, UK: adapting to climate change and delivering social outcomes’, https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/full/10.1680/jcien.20.00069 

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk  

Emma meets Jimmy Nguyen, APM’s Project Professional of the Year 2023 and Associate Director at Turner & Townsend. Jimmy worked on the Bromford and Castle Vale flood risk management scheme for the Environment Agency. He was praised by APM’s awards judges for successfully dealing with stakeholder pressure, garnering support from the local MP and forming a high-performing team to deliver the project for the overall benefit of the local community. Listen on for his top project and career tips.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

We look back at our favourite moments from the podcast in 2023. 

It’s been another action-packed year in which we’ve welcomed guests from across the international project management community. We kicked off 2023 with an episode on bringing empathy into the workplace, and since then we’ve covered topics ranging from the rise of artificial intelligence to the can-do mindset of Icelandic project managers.

But there have been a few episodes that really stood out to us and which performed particularly well with listeners. So in this episode, we share our ‘top five lessons from the year’ in the form of short extracts from these episodes.

Contact: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk  

Emma meets Belinda Parmar, founder and CEO of The Empathy Business, who was also the keynote speaker at APM’s Women in Project Management Conference in September. Belinda uses the science of empathy to change the way we lead at work, changing cultures to bring more empowerment to people's lives, with a focus on belonging and diversity. Belinda is also the creator of the Global Empathy Index, published in the Harvard Business Review, which is the first index to measure empathy and inclusion at scale. She works alongside CEOs and leaders of large organisations to transform companies using the power of empathy.

Contact apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

This special episode is guest hosted by Emma-Ruth Arnaz-Pemberton, chair of APM’s PMO Specific Interest Group, and Director of Consulting Services at Wellingtone.

She’s in conversation with Catherine Lumb of Openreach. The Fibre and Network Delivery PMO at Openreach was the recipient of APM’s 2022 PMO of the Year award. The judges praised the PMO for “working on relationships and on accessible ways to being benefits” and also for “generating joy through the work itself.”

Listen to hear Catherine talk about how and why the PMO was established, the transformation journey it went on, and also why PMOs have something of an image problem – and how to break the bias.

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Contact: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Recorded live at APM’s Women in Project Management Conference 2024, this episode brings together four project professionals to discuss what inclusivity means to them. Being an inclusive leader, they said, can strengthen relationships with colleagues by creating a more supportive and collaborative workplace culture. But is it easier said than done? And how do you bring people with you?

Join Elizabeth Nolan, Roselyn Unegbu, Sarah Outterson and Ali Parish as they share their top three things that make for an inclusive workplace, before taking questions from the audience.

Register your interest for the 2025 Women in Project Management Conference (2 October 2025) at this link: www.apm.org.uk/apm-wipm-conference/register-of-interest-form-2025/

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Emma meets Susanne Madsen, an executive coach for business leaders, particularly those working in the project profession. She is the award-winning author of The Power of Project Leadership and a regular contributor to Project journal. Susanne is known for her transformational leadership programmes and has coached hundreds of individuals from high-profile organisations across the globe. Her new book, How to Do the Inner Work, is available as a book, e-book, and audiobook. We often think the answer to our personal and professional problems lie outside of us, she says. But many of the answers we're looking for can be found within.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

In this episode, Emma meets Annie Hairsine, the project management brains behind the fabulously successful Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer. The Games were filled with colour and energy and were billed as the most sustainable and diverse Games ever, but what was it like to pull off this huge undertaking and will the city of Birmingham be able to capitalise on its legacy? Read more about Annie and the Games in the winter 2022 edition of Project journal. Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Emma meets three project professionals (Alex Constantine, Clare Hornsby and Natalie Talbot) to discuss what it’s like to be an introvert in a project profession that seems to favour extroverts, at least on the surface. This situation leaves many introverts having to fake it and suffer the consequences. So, isn’t it time things changed?

Read more about introverts in the project profession in the spring 2023 edition of APM’s Project journal.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

In 2022, APM is celebrating its 50th anniversary, so throughout the year we’ll be sitting down with some of the movers and shakers who have shaped the project profession across the last few decades. We’ll be asking them how the profession has evolved, where the untapped potential lies, and what the future might hold.

In this episode, Andrew Saunders, journalist and regular contributor to Project journal, sits down with Darren Dalcher, professor of strategic project management at the University of Lancaster.

Few people have studied project management as closely or for as long as Darren, who is also a director of the National Centre for Project Management, and co-editor of the 7th edition of APM’s Body of Knowledge.

In a career spanning more than 25 years, Darren has become a respected voice for innovation in the sector thanks to his fascination with the power of projects and in particular why some fail and others succeed.

If you enjoy this episode, look out for the spring edition of Project journal, out in March, which features extra material from Andrew’s interview with Darren.

Please rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and more. Get in touch at apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

In this episode, Emma meets three of the profession’s bright young things – Stacey Bishop (SSE Renewables), Ashlyn O’Riordan (Turner & Townsend) and James Patraiko (Corre Energy). They share the younger generation’s biggest concerns, expectations and hopes for their career. What do they want older generations to understand about them? What is it about the project profession that motivates them so deeply? And what can we learn from them about new ways of working?

‘A sense maker in a daft world’ is how today’s guest, Eddie Obeng, describes himself. Eddie is a Visiting Professor at Henley Business School, an esteemed columnist for Project journal and an APM Honorary Fellow. He's also learning director at the virtual business school Pentacle, a TED speaker and co-founder of Qube. A new edition of his book All Change! The project leader's secret handbook is out this year. In this podcast, he shares his thoughts on the most important trends in project management for 2023, and what you should be doing about them.

Get in touch: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

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Emma meets Dame Inga Beale, portfolio director and former CEO of global insurance giant Lloyd’s of London. Dame Inga was keynote speaker at APM’s 2023 Women in Project Management Conference. 

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

Emma welcomes back Bent Flyvbjerg to talk about his new book, How Big Things Get Done: The surprising factors behind every successful project, from home renovations to science exploration. Bent formulated the ‘iron law of megaprojects’, which contends that $1bn-plus megaprojects will almost always blow their budget and schedule and yield fewer benefits than promised. His new book outlines how the data shows this is no mystery; it's usually the result of terrible forecasting and planning. The good news is that he explains how every project from a house renovation to the building of a new nuclear power station could be done far more successfully.

Listen to Bent’s first appearance on the APM Podcast here.

Contact: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

In this episode, hosted by Project journal online editor Mike Hine, our topic is project success, and how the definition of success is evolving to fit the challenges of the 2020s and beyond. At a time when the country is looking to build back better post-pandemic, projects will play a major role in determining the UK’s economic future. They are truly vital to the UK’s success on many fronts. But with so much riding on these projects, we need to ensure they succeed.

Historically, projects have notoriously struggled to hit their targets. So perhaps it’s time to revisit the very notion of project success. What constitutes a successful project? What are some of the most fundamental factors that underpin success? And has the project profession moved beyond the age-old metrics of time, cost and quality?

Thanks to our panel of experts:

• Katie McConochie, founder of training consultancy Learn Change
• Mhairi Creanor, education and skills project manager at Zero Waste Scotland
• Aga Gajownik, founder of Scrum Educational Experience and Innovation & Integration

All of the contributors to this podcast are presenting at APM’s Power of Projects Conference, which runs from 7-11 June, with a focus on redefining project ‘success’ for a post-pandemic world. Sign up or listen later on-demand at https://www.apm.org.uk/event/power-of-projects-2021/

Send us your feedback and suggestions at apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

The new world requires a different mindset and skillset to navigate the pitfalls of change delivery. In this podcast, Jo Stanford (Health Education England) and Sarbjit Hoskinson (ThermoFisher Scientific) discuss how they have tackled the cultural and behavioural shifts needed to embed change. They explore the capabilities, team dynamics and mindset needed for project and change managers to deliver sustainable outcomes and achieve value in a complex, evolving environment.

Further reading 

• David Armstrong, Organization in the Mind: Psychoanalysis, Group Relations and Organizational Consultancy 
• Brené Brown, Daring Greatly 
• Stephen R Covey, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People 
• Amy Edmondson, The Fearless Organization 
• Amy Edmonson, Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy (see also: Teaming to Innovate and Extreme Teaming) 
• Amy L Fraher, Group Dynamics for High-Risk Teams 
• Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, James Macanufo, Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers 
• Peter Hawkins, Eve Turner, Systemic Coaching: Delivering Value Beyond the Individual 
• Jeffery M Hiatt, Timothy J Creasey, Change Management: The People Side of Change 
• Jeffrey A Miller, The Anxious Organization: Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things 
• Anita Mountain, Chris Davidson, Working Together: Organizational Transactional Analysis and Business Performance 
• Carole Osterweil, Neuroscience for Project Success: Why people behave as they do 
• Daniel H Pink, Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us 
• Simon Sinek, Start with Why 
• Dr Tammy Watchorn, The Change Ninja Handbook: An interactive adventure for leading change

In this episode, Project journal editor Emma De Vita meets Evan Davis, presenter of BBC 4’s daily news programme PM, and former main presenter of Newsnight and the Today programme. He is also well known as the presenter of business reality show Dragons’ Den and on Radio 4 he hosts a weekly business discussion programme called The Bottom Line. His latest book is Post Truth, which sets out to explain why there is so much mendacity and nonsense in public discourse and why it became more of a concern in 2016.

In this podcast, Evan gives an informed outsider’s perspective on the importance of projects to the economic, political and cultural life of a country.

In ‘From the Frontline’, Project journal editor Emma De Vita meets project professionals who are working on cutting-edge projects, and academics whose research is at the forefront of project management techniques.

In this episode she speaks to the researchers behind Project X’s latest report, published by APM, called Rethinking Capabilities: Lessons for policy, scholarship and practice. Project X is an ESRC‑funded research collaboration between government, academia and industry representatives, aiming to generate unique insights into the performance of major projects and programmes in government.

So why do some major projects perform poorly, and others perform well – and what can you do about it? We hear about some of the key findings and what you can do to put them into practice on your projects right now.

On the panel:

• Dr Rebecca Vine is an assistant professor in accounting at the University of Sussex Business School
• Dr Dicle Kortantamer is a research fellow at the University of Brighton
• Dr Jas Kalra is an assistant professor in supply chain management at Newcastle University Business School
• Phillippa Groome is a doctoral researcher at the University of Sussex

Read the research paper here.

Find out more about Project X here.

Get in touch with us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

This episode sees Professor Adam Boddison, APM Chief Executive, in conversation with the Right Honourable Justine Greening. Justine served as an MP from 2005 to 2019. During her time in politics, she held positions including Secretary of State for Education, Minister for Women and Equalities and Secretary of State for International Development.

In this podcast, Adam and Justine discuss the definition of social mobility, the status of apprenticeships and where project management fits into the levelling up agenda.

Justine also shares her experiences as co-founder of the Social Mobility Pledge campaign, which encourages organisations to be a force for good by putting social mobility at the heart of their purpose.

Visit https://www.socialmobilitypledge.org/

Contact us at apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Emma meets three women to talk about menopause in the workplace. Two of them are project professionals – Rachel Jackson of Anglo American and Jo Roberts of the DfT – while the third, Aly Dilks of Simply Menopausal, is a nurse specialising in menopause.

The guests share experience and advice for those wanting to find out how to best deal with being menopausal, and how to support colleagues going through menopause.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

To celebrate our 100th episode, Emma meets Ros Atkins, the BBC’s News Analysis Editor, who has presented and reported on some of the biggest stories around the world for 20 years. He’s also the creator of the critically acclaimed Ros Atkins On… video series, where he explains complex stories in a truly masterful way.

His new book, The Art of Explanation, is out now in paperback. In it, and in this interview, Ros shares how to get the often difficult art of explaining right. We don’t just mean explaining the ins and outs of a project to your team or stakeholders, but how to communicate everything that matters to you with both clarity and confidence so that you can do what you set out to achieve.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

What is the true value of the project profession to the UK economy and society? That is the question that APM seeks to answer in its new research report, The Golden Thread. Expanding on research first published in 2019, the new report provides updated data on the contribution of the project profession in the context of the global disruptions of the past five years.

In this podcast we share an edited recording of the launch event for the Golden Thread report.

Download the report at https://www.apm.org.uk/resources/research/the-golden-thread/ 

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Professor Adam Boddison (APM Chief Executive) in conversation with Kris Baldy, Army Portfolio Director at the UK Ministry of Defence.

Kris shares his journey through the ranks of the civil service, including his rise from admin assistant to portfolio director, and how he, in his own words, "stumbled into project management".

Projects and programmes, Kris says, are central to tackling the main challenges facing the Army, including the modernisation of vital equipment. None of that is possible without a pipeline of talented project professionals entering the Ministry of Defence, and Kris tells Adam about the department’s approach to growing and developing its project talent base, while reminding us that you don’t have to be in uniform to deliver projects in the Army.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

Emma meets Vip Vyas, co-author of Gorilla in the Cockpit: Breaking the hidden patterns of project failure and the system for success. Vip is founder of a company that specialises in breakthrough performance on large projects. He's been a visiting consultant at London Business School and an executive consultant at Said Business School at the University of Oxford. His book is the product of 25 years’ experience of tackling and turning around highly complex projects across many sectors, including banking, FMCG, government, digital technology and renewables. In this podcast, he shares what he has learned about why most projects fail, what makes some projects so successful and how you can become a better project leader.

Vip can be contacted at connect@vipvyas.com

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

What’s it like to deliver life-changing medical research projects that address health problems facing communities, change health options and outcomes for patients, and improve the lives of people living with disease? That’s the remit of Dr Karen Skinner, Chief Project and Portfolio Officer at not-for-profit Life Arc. Join us as she sits down with Professor Adam Boddison, Chief Executive of APM, for an in-depth conversation about project management in the charity sector.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

Professor Adam Boddison in conversation Sir Nigel Thrift, Chair of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, or CoRWM.

CoRWM’s role, as Sir Nigel describes it, is to give independent scientific and technical advice to UK Government on all aspects of the management of radioactive waste.

Sir Nigel is one of the world’s leading human geographers and previously served as Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Warwick and as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Oxford.

Hear him chat with Adam about dealing with a football stadium’s worth of radioactive waste, the environmental impact of mega-cities and how to enable better long-term thinking in government departments.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Emma meets Steve Gilligan, a programme manager who’s playing a critical role in the world's first decommissioning of a nuclear fusion machine. He works at Culham Campus, just outside Oxford, home to the Joint European Taurus, or JET, a tokamak machine where some of the world’s most important nuclear fusion experiments have taken place.

But now JET’s days are over and Gilligan is tasked with taking apart and reusing and retrieving valuable resources from the tokamak. Using robots through remote handling is a key part of his focus. Steve shares what it’s like working on such an exciting and world-leading project, why humour is key when it comes to high-risk project management environments and why it’s always worth celebrating those project successes.

Get in touch: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk     

In this episode, Project journal editor Emma De Vita meets Simon Fell, director of events, festivals and leisure at London’s Alexandra Palace (or Ally Pally as you might know it). He has significant experience of delivering, programming and promoting large-scale public entertainment events with capacities of up to 50,000. He set up Ally Pally’s Kaleidoscope Festival in 2018, which is a 12,000-capacity boutique arts and music festival set within the grounds of the venue.

In this podcast, he gives us a VIP backstage pass to what it takes to project manage Alexandra Palace and how the pandemic empowered him to take a different approach. Listen to discover what lessons you can learn from the world of festivals and events, which might inspire you to try out new things on your own projects.

Get in touch: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

In this episode, Project journal editor Emma De Vita meets NASA’s Bill Ochs, project manager for the James Webb Space Telescope, the largest space science telescope ever developed, which was successfully launched on Christmas Day on a journey of close to one million miles from earth. Hubble’s replacement gives humanity a new eye in the sky with infrared sensors that will peer into the farthest reaches of the cosmos to observe the universe’s first galaxies, reveal the birth of stars and planets, and look for exoplanets with the potential for life.

In this podcast, Bill, who is based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to lead a project like this and what you need to get right to achieve a successful mission.

Contact: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

2024 is drawing to a close, and with a new year just around the corner, here at the APM Podcast we’re in a reflective mood. In this episode, we’re going to look back at what we’ve learned from the 25 episodes we’ve published this year. We’ve covered everything from managing radioactive waste to making documentaries for the BBC. But what have been the standout lessons? Don’t forget to share yours!

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

Emma meets Ashleigh Hargrave, Interim Head of Strategy Projects and Management at the King Edward VI Foundation in Birmingham, and David Kitchiner, Head of the Portfolio Office at the RSPB, to find out what it’s like to be leading project management within these two charities, both of which are APM Corporate Partners. They provide a behind-the-scenes look at how project management is woven into the strategic and operational fabric of their organisations. They also give their top tips on project managing in the charity sector and how digital transformation is bringing great benefits.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

In this episode, Emma is joined once again by Professor Darren Dalcher of the University of Lancaster. Few people have studied project management as closely or for as long as Darren. In a career spanning more than 25 years, he has become very interested in the reasons for project failure. When it comes to agile, Darren was there from the start when it was being experimented with in software development. Who better, then, to explore the origins of agile and its impact on projects?

 

Contact: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

Emma meets Beth West, CEO of East West Rail, a transport project that will open up a corridor from Oxford, through Milton Keynes and Bedford, to Cambridge and connect the UK’s two leading life sciences and tech hot spots.

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Emma meets Haukur Ingi Jónasson, Professor of Project Management at the University of Reykjavik, where he runs its Master’s in Project Management (MPM) course. The MPM is helping create the project professionals needed to take Iceland through its latest transformation. You can read all about it in the spring 2023 issue of Project journal. Haukur talks to Emma about his unusual entry into project management and how the Icelandic mindset is something we could all benefit learning from.

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In this episode Project journal editor Emma De Vita meets Richard Noble, the leader of some truly awe-inspiring British extreme speed projects on land, at sea and in the air. These included bringing the Land speed record back to Britain in 1983 when he drove his Thrust 2 car to 633mph, and 14 years later he led the Thrust SCC team to achieve the first supersonic record at 763 mph. He’s also the man behind the Bloodhound project with the mission to reach 1,000mph on land, and to inspire generations of new engineers and scientists through a pioneering educational programme.

He outlines what it takes to lead projects like this, why embracing risk makes for innovation, and how to motivate teams.

If you want to find out more, look out for his contribution to the forthcoming summer issue of APM’s Project journal, and get a copy of his book Take Risk!, published by EVRO.

In our three-part series on the National Trust, an APM Corporate Partner, we find out how the charity has brought project management close to its organisational heart. In episode 1, Emma goes behind the scenes at Dyrham Park, a 17th-century mansion near Bath, which recently underwent a multimillion-pound transformation project. She meets Mike Hudson, Head of Strategic Planning, Project and Programme Management at the National Trust, and Senior Project Manager Tim Cambourne, who takes her on a tour of the house. Find out more about APM’s Corporate Partnership Programme at www.apm.org.uk/corporate-partnership-programme 

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Emma meets Paul Kidston and Carolyn Browning to discuss project controls. The pair are co-authors, along with others, of the new APM book, Project Controls in the 21st Century, available at apm.org.uk/book-shop/project-controls-in-the-21st-century/

Listen on to find out why project controllers should actually be called ‘truth tellers’ and how, in project controls, you need to have both an eye for the technical details and be able to step back and join the strategic dots. But what really matters is the ability to be adept at the people side of things, like communicating well, problem-solving and being a leader who creates the best kind of project culture.

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Emma meets Frances Palmer, Associate Director at Gleeds; Dave Corbin FAPM, Head of Client Accounts at Gleeds; and leadership and culture coach Anita Phagura, who previously worked in infrastructure project management.

Frances and Dave helped set up APM’s Built Environment Interest Network last year. With a special focus on diversity and inclusion for the week of International Women’s Day, our guests explore how the construction sector can become more diverse and inclusive, what actions really work and how change can be accelerated.

Find Anita’s research at: https://anitaphagura.com/raise-the-bar 

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In the third and final part of our series on the National Trust, Emma is back at Dyrham Park near Bath to meet three project management apprentices who all started at the Trust in October 2022 and are nearing the end of their 18-month apprenticeship programme after sitting APM’s Project Management Qualification. So, what’s it like to be an apprentice in an organisation that puts project management at the heart of what it does? What have they learnt so far, what projects have they worked on and where might their future career take them?

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Emma meets Thimon de Jong, founder of WHETSTON / strategic foresight, a think tank specialising in future human behaviour and societal change and the implications for leadership and business strategy. The pair discuss where society and all of us are headed in the near future, and what project managers and leaders need to think about when it comes to the people they're managing, the projects they're running and your own mental wellbeing amid the ‘polycrisis’.

Thimon is a keynote speaker at the APM Conference on 5–6 June 2024. More information here.

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In this episode, APM Chief Executive Professor Adam Boddison meets Craig Hatch, President at Tetra Tech UK. Tetra Tech is a global technology, environmental and management consultancy, with over 20,000 employees worldwide. The pair discuss the need for greater inclusivity in the profession, the state of project expertise at C-Suite level, and the importance of delivering long-term value to communities through projects. Contact apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

In this episode, Emma De Vita asks what mentoring means, what benefits it brings for people and organisations and how to do it well.

Our guest panellists:

• Vicki Griffiths, senior project manager at marine engineering company Fugro
• Ewelina Kruk, associate director within programme and portfolio management at Incendium Consulting
• Jaspal Kaur-Griffin, head of programmes at the Bar Standards Board

All have experience being mentors and being mentored themselves. Vicki was part of the team that set up the Women in Project Management mentoring scheme for APM, while Ewelina was involved with the pilot of APM’s broader mentoring programme, which launched at the end of January.

Find out more here: https://www.apm.org.uk/news/association-for-project-management-launches-apm-mentoring/

Get in touch: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

In 2022, our podcast guests have shared their advice and experiences on everything from putting telescopes into space to discovering sunken ships at the bottom of the Antarctic Sea. As the year draws to a close, we thought it would be worthwhile taking a look back at some of the lessons we learnt in 2022. So in this festive bonus episode, we collate some of our favourite highlights from episodes you may have missed earlier in the year. Contact apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

Emma travels to Westcott, Buckinghamshire, to meet the team at Nammo Space, who work on propulsion systems for space rocket engines and thrusters. Their cutting-edge products are used on international space programmes, whether they’re satellites or missions to the moon or Mars. The business is growing rapidly, with around 100 people, and 12 project professionals. Read more in the autumn 2024 edition of Project journal.

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Emma meets Dr Miranda Loh, Director of Scientific Growth, Engagement and Innovation at the Institute of Occupational Medicine, which is dedicated to enhancing health in workplaces.

Miranda develops the institute’s research capabilities in hazardous substances, exposure assessment, health and wellbeing at work, air pollution and the built environment’s impact on health. While not formally qualified in project management, Miranda is a self-confessed big fan of project management and takes a formal approach to managing all in-house projects.

Listen on to find out how project management can bring value to new sectors. And how project management can be introduced to an organisation not formerly familiar with it.

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In this episode, Emma meets Kristina Bull, a Partner at QSA Partners, a B Corp consultancy with a mission to help organisations to implement circular economy business models. A project professional with a focus on sustainability, Kristina currently advises clothing brands and retailers and how to become more truly sustainable. She also works on the Cotton Lives On initiative, a recycling programme turning your old cottons into new products.

Listen to find out about her work on sustainability and her advice for every project professional on what more you can do.

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Emma meets Algy Ayson, Head of Project Delivery Centre of Excellence and Profession at UK Parliament, who works on projects and programmes across both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Emma spoke to him in June, just a few weeks ahead of the UK general election. Algy gives some great advice on how to create culturally competent project teams where diverse perspectives are welcomed and used to the advantage of projects. He is a project professional who puts people and relationships between stakeholders top when it comes to successful project delivery.

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Professor Adam Boddison (APM Chief Executive) meets Nick Smallwood, CEO of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA). The IPA oversees the UK’s National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline, which contains hundreds of billions of pounds of public and private infrastructure investment. It also supports the Government Major Projects Portfolio, made up of projects with high levels of complexity, impact or risk. Also part of Nick’s remit is advancing the professionalisation of project delivery within the UK government. 

Adam speaks to Nick about his route into the project profession, including four decades at Shell. We also hear about Nick’s decision to move into the public sector, the implementation of a Project Academy within government, and why he believes he is in the best project job in the UK.

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Adam Boddison, APM chief executive, meets Mark Thurston, CEO of Europe’s largest infrastructure project, HS2. The pair discuss the evolution of the project profession, areas for growth and the pressures associated with managing an era-defining megaproject.

Mark also gives his thoughts on the levelling-up agenda, sharing lessons learned and what makes an effective project leader.

Contact us at apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

In this episode, hosted by Mike Hine, online editor for Project journal, we take a look at the topic of dynamic conditions for project success.

Project professionals and organisations are always on the lookout for ways to enhance project outcomes, but doing so can prove elusive. It’s a topic of great interest to researchers, too, and to that end APM has recently published the report Dynamic conditions for project success. The report identifies organisational, professional, and societal dynamic conditions that can enhance project outcomes and explores how project professionals and organisations apply them.

We spoke to three of the research team from the Universities of Sussex and Southampton – Dr Nicholas Dacre, Dr David Eggleton and Vasilis Gkogkidis.

Download the report here.

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In this episode, Project journal editor Emma De Vita speaks to Tim Rose, programme manager at Energy Superhub Oxford, a four-year, £40m demonstrator project to explore potential innovation in using batteries to support grid stability, electric vehicle infrastructure and smart renewable heating. It aims to save 10,000 tonnes of CO2 every year once opened, increasing to 25,000 tonnes by 2032. Part of the Superhub is the UK’s first grid-scale hybrid battery energy storage system, led by Pivot Power (part of EDF Renewables), which plugs into the National Grid.

The project is part funded by a £12m Innovate UK grant to demonstrate a model for other towns and cities and to improve air quality and support Oxford’s plans for rapid decarbonisation.

In this podcast, Tim shares his experience of working on a highly innovative, cutting-edge project at the forefront of climate action, and gives his advice to project professionals on what they can learn from projects like these – and the skills you need to work in the area.

In this episode, Emma meets Sarah Coleman and Andrew Schuster to talk assurance management. Sarah is a Chartered Project Professional and Fellow of APM and PhD researcher, and Andrew is the National Director of Transformation Risk and Advisory at PwC Canada. Sarah and Andrew co-authored the recent APM Research report Value of Assurance Management Practices, which you can download here.

What distinctive practices are being used to develop and deliver an assurance management service in project-based organisations? And how do organisations determine the level and type of investment they will make in assurance management practices? Listen to find out.

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In the second of our follow-up podcasts from the APM Women in Project Management Conference, Emma invites three senior leaders from the world of projects who contributed to WIPM. They share their experience to help those starting out in their career and also give their tips for women on how to rise to the top of the profession. Joining Emma are:

• Sam Olsen, DWP
• Estelle Detrembleur, Mace and APM’s Risk SIG
• Sharon Parker-Brannan, Sellafield Ltd

Do you have a suggested topic for the podcast or any feedback to share? Get in touch: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

In our From the Frontline season, Project journal editor Emma De Vita is meeting professionals who are working on cutting-edge projects, and academics whose research is at the forefront of project management techniques.

In this episode, we meet Jennifer Trosper, project manager for NASA’s Mars Perseverance project in its Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Jennifer has worked on NASA’s Perseverance programme for eight years. When Perseverance finally landed successfully on 18 February after launching on 30 July 2020, there was a lot to celebrate. The Perseverance rover, complete with onboard helicopter, cost $2.4bn dollars to build and will cost another $300m to land and operate in its first year on Mars. Its mission is to seek signs of ancient life on Mars and bring samples back for further investigation.

Get in touch with us at apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Resetting projects in a better way for a post-COVID world means capitalising on the best minds. Cognitive diversity, as explained by Matthew Syed in his book Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking, pays.   In this episode, Project editor Emma De Vita discusses diversity and inclusion with Jenny McLaughlin, a project manager at Heathrow Airport, who is also its disability network lead. Jenny is innovative in the way she threads inclusivity through every part of the projects she manages. She says project managers are the best people to deliver change, and with true support from Heathrow’s executive team, she’s showing what diversity means for projects when you take it beyond a cursory tick-box exercise. By asking difficult questions every step of the way, she and her team are creating a sense of belonging for everyone on a project. How is she doing it? And what lessons can she share with other project managers who are serious about making inclusion real? Listen to find out more.

What is the future of project management as the world moves into the next stage of the COVID-19 crisis? And what are the risk factors and opportunities going forward, both for individuals and the profession? Taking a future-focused approach, in this episode, we hear from APM’s chief executive, Debbie Dore, and president, Sue Kershaw, about the ‘new normal’. From remote working to people management, Debbie and Sue explore why collaboration, communication and innovation are more important than ever – plus the renewed focus on fundamental skills such as change and adaptability.

In this episode, our topic is the APM Body of Knowledge. The seventh edition of this core text for the profession was published in 2019. One year on, the book’s co-editors – Dr Ruth Murray-Webster and Professor Darren Dalcher – co-host an episode that reflects on the changes and updates made to the seventh edition. They discuss the considerable challenges and responsibilities of updating what they describe as a “foundational knowledge document” for the profession. They consider the background and context to BoK7, the significant changes it introduced and the future of project-based management in an uncertain world. Ruth and Darren have written about their belief that a chartered profession does not require black and white ‘rules’. Instead it needs reflective professionals who can think about and devise ways to navigate a messy context in a nuanced way. Listen now to take a deep dive into the fundamentals of the project profession in 2020 and beyond.

In this episode, host Emma De Vita meets Susan Ferry, a project manager for change at Allianz, who led what she calls a ‘big bang transformation’ project that revolutionised ways of working for the global insurance company, fostering innovation through a no-blame culture where trust and honesty were paramount. We spoke to Susan at the start of February to find out more about the Motor Engineer Control System project that she led in 2019, and why it was an innovative transformation project that garnered praise from APM. The aim of the project was to streamline the motor engineering repair, inspection and salvage processes, which included delivering app-based mobile workflow management for engineers. The project was a first for Allianz, and resulted in a fully integrated process that enabled an immediate inspection booking at the point a claim is raised. The ability for engineers to manage their workflow digitally and therefore remotely is proving its worth during COVID-19 lockdowns. The project’s wider benefits have exceeded expectations, and the hybrid approach that was taken ensured the project was delivered on time, to budget and to standard.  You can read an in-depth account of the workings of this award-winning project in the forthcoming spring issue of APM’s Project journal, out in March.

In the ‘Project Innovators’ season of podcasts, Project journal editor Emma De Vita is speaking to project professionals who are leading projects in an innovative way at a time when many of us are hoping the world of work and projects can be reset for a post-COVID-19 world. In this episode she speaks to Matthew Moran, Head of Transformation at The Open University, and occasional lecturer in the OU Business School. Matthew is one of the educators on the ‘Project Management: Beyond the Basics’ course on FutureLearn, a collaboration between the OU and APM. He is also an advisor and consultant to a number of education institutions and edtech startups and companies.  Matthew is writing a book on hybrid project management for APM, aiming to help project managers to do hybrid better. Instead of being irreconcilable opposites, he argues that project managers need both linear and agile for projects of any degree of complexity – and that the best results are achieved when we acknowledge the need for both, and when we aim to get the best of both (by understanding and making trade-offs between the upsides and downsides of each).

This episode explores the findings from The Golden Thread, a research series by APM and PwC. The first Golden Thread paper was commissioned to throw light on a profession that has been hidden and undervalued for too long, and to prove that the size of the project profession in the UK is significant and growing. Two follow-up reports focused on fast-growth sectors for project management (including health, pharma and life sciences, SMEs, and charities) and regional hubs, including the Northern Powerhouse, the Heathrow Corridor and Cambridge’s Silicon Fen. In this podcast, host Emma De Vita (editor, Project journal) asks: what’s the big-picture take on project management in the UK? Is the profession given the serious recognition it deserves? And what does the future hold for project management amid the ongoing global pandemic? On the panel are: David Thomson, head of external affairs at APM. Andrew Edkins, professor of the management of complex projects and former director of the Bartlett Real Estate Institute at UCL (Andrew was also on the Golden Thread academic advisory panel). Tony Mulvahil, a consultant, coach, trainer and educator for project managers in the world of SMEs, and case study participant for The Golden Thread. His consultancy is called Planning for the Best.

From Deepwater to drones – in this episode Project editor Emma De Vita meets Benjamin Hooper, programme and project manager at Heathrow Airport, whose project won APM’s 2020 Overall Project of the Year. The project, to create a counter-unmanned aerial system (or anti-drone system) embraced innovative ways of thinking and managing for the project team, who were tasked with finding an immediate solution to the drone threat in the airport’s airspace. They only had days to fix the problem, so the pressure was immense and the usual project life cycle was jettisoned for more responsive, collaborative and agile processes. Ben was able to draw on his experience of working as a subsea operations engineer in the Gulf of Mexico when the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill happened, when he suddenly became part of the crisis management team there. It’s not something he’d ever wish to happen again, he says, but being thrust into the emergency response team was a pivotal moment in his career. Read Ben’s in-depth account of the workings of the anti-drone project in the forthcoming spring issue of APM’s Project journal, out in March.

In this episode, our topic is how to be a great project leader. We pin down exactly what it means to lead a project and how this role is evolving to reflect the changing nature of projects and obviously in 2020, the pressures of the Covid pandemic. In this podcast, host Emma De Vita, editor of Project journal, asks how a project leader needs to behave to be highly effective, and what mindset you need to thrive in this role. APM’s 7th edition of its Body of Knowledge defines project leadership as: providing vision, direction, feedback and support so people can do their best work. And to do this in an environment of change and uncertainty. Project leadership is usually performed with limits on a project leader’s power requiring them to adopt a style that builds team and wider stakeholder commitment. Our panel discusses in-depth what this definition means in practice, giving lots of advice on how you can become a better project leader, particularly during these challenging times. On the panel are: Gordon MacKay, project management capability lead at Sellafield and author of a forthcoming book on project leadership for APM. Mike Bourne, professor of business performance, action, execution and implementation at Cranfield School of Management. Claire Fryer, director of behavioural management and executive coach at Costain.

In this episode, Project journal editor Emma De Vita meets Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, who is on a mission to champion project management as a central issue for every CEO. He is the author of Lead Successful Projects, published by Penguin, and he is also a Harvard Business Review author and has been recognised by Thinkers50 as an influential global business thinker. Antonio is the co-founder of the Strategy Implementation Institute, and his day job is as director of the Program Management Office at GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines. He is also a former chair of PMI. He has vast global experience leading complex projects, and previously worked as Head of Project Portfolio Management at BNP Paribas Fortis.  Antonio spoke to us about why and how project management and project managers need to become more strategic if they are to innovate. Projects are the future of organisations, but project managers need to sit at the top table, he argues. CEOs need to accept project management as part of the strategic conversation within their organisation, and project managers need to learn new skills and think about their role differently in order for this to happen. Antonio kindly shares his thoughts on how this can be done.

Our Crisis Talks series explores how project managers are adapting and pivoting to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, Emma De Vita (editor of APM’s Project journal) speaks to Hannah Gledhill, senior project manager at Hotel Chocolat. The British chocolatier has small project team focused primarily on product development. Just prior to lockdown, it had begun a process of transformation, working closely with the Kaizen Institute to foster a culture of continuous improvement and greater efficiency. That commitment to transformation has continued throughout lockdown, despite the mounting challenges, as Hannah explains. Hotel Chocolat experienced the same initial challenges as many businesses – unfamiliarity with virtual technology and practices, and a period of uncertainty around which projects would be affected and how. However, as Hannah explains, the team was already geared up to go through “an element of pain” as it kick-started the Kaizen transformation to become a slicker operation. They hadn’t bargained on a pandemic, perhaps, but the period of uncertainty has provided a test of their new culture. Listen now to hear how Hannah and her team emerged from the initial crisis management phase and kept the nation happy in lockdown through the medium of chocolate.

Our Crisis Talks series explores how project managers are adapting and pivoting to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, Emma De Vita (editor of APM’s Project journal) speaks to Paul Hilton, programme director at global engineering, management and development company Mott MacDonald. Paul lives in Singapore and oversees the delivery of 13 Future Cities projects across nine cities in six countries in South-East Asia. The programme aims to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. It prioritises the needs of girls, women and the most excluded people in these communities and is aligned to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Paul began work on the programme when it kicked off in 2019, and has carried on leading it through the COVID-19 crisis while Singapore has been in lockdown and his local teams in the Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia have been contending with the pandemic. The 13 projects range from a smart ticketing transport system in Ho Chi Minh City to an earthquake and tsunami warning system in Surabaya. Paul tells me about the challenges of managing the programme as the world heads towards a new normal, and how being an expat has made him more resilient to the trials of the COVID-19 crisis.

As with many new digital technologies, the terminology surrounding project data analytics can be confusing or off-putting to busy project professionals. However, as we discover in this episode, the potential of project data analytics is huge – and there are several ways you, as a project professional, can begin to harness the practical benefits today. So what are some of these benefits? And how can you begin to develop better project data discipline within your organisation? To find out more about the opportunities and pitfalls, Project journal’s online editor Mike Hine spoke to a series of experts from across industry, academia and beyond: Naomi Brookes, professor of complex programme management at WMG University of Warwick Oliver Cowey, project controls manager, and Samir Patel, head of data, Office of the Chief Information Officer, at BAE Systems John McGlynn, project delivery director for Atkins Martin Paver, chief executive of Projecting Success Further reading: apm.org.uk; projectdataanalytics.uk Don’t forget to rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode, we look back on 2020 and reflect on some key project management lessons from a turbulent 9 months. Soon after the first UK lockdown in March, we founded this podcast to share the stories of project professionals who were managing, adapting and pivoting their projects to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic. We dubbed series one ‘Crisis Talks’, and each episode was presented by Project journal editor Emma De Vita. Our hope was that we would end up with a valuable resource during a time of crisis for project professionals, who were doing their best to navigate a situation that almost none of us had imagined happening. What we ended up with was a chronicle of work and life through the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic endures – but the advice given in the 'Crisis Talks' series will be relevant way past 2020. In this episode, we’ve picked out the best nuggets of wisdom from the first series of this podcast – with topics ranging from mental health to delivering to seemingly impossible targets.

In the ‘Project Innovators’ season of podcasts, Project journal editor Emma De Vita will be speaking to project professionals who are leading projects in an innovative way at a time when many of us are hoping the world of work and projects can be reset in a better way for a post-COVID-19 world.  In episode one, we meet Caroline Raynor, project manager and principal archaeologist for the Costain Skanska JV, who designed and led the Saint James’s Gardens excavation in London's Euston as part of work for HS2’s London terminus. It is the largest archaeological excavation of a burial ground in Europe, and HS2 as a whole is probably the largest programme of archaeological works driven by a single project in recent times.  Caroline has pulled off an amazing feat in that she not only borrowed lean principles from the world of manufacturing, but also actively encouraged a far more gender-balanced project than the norm, with a 43 per cent female demographic on-site. Emma spoke to Caroline at the end of September just as the BBC's Britain’s Biggest Dig series began airing – the first episode of which was all about the Saint James’s dig. Catch it on iPlayer.

Our Crisis Talks series explores how project managers are adapting and pivoting to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, Emma De Vita (editor of APM’s Project journal) speaks to Sonia Sharma, head of planning and corporate PMO at Channel 4. Sonia explains the challenges of working within an organisation of low project management maturity, where staff are sometimes resistant to the structures and governance she is trying to implement. Prior to lockdown, Sonia had been working on building up the enterprise PMO, while in February Channel 4 had kick-started a significant transformation programme. When COVID-19 hit, the organisation experienced a “chaotic” few weeks, with staff unsure how to react. The wider picture for the broadcaster looked challenging, with major events such as the Paralympics postponed, leaving Channel 4 facing a revenue hit and the task of rescheduling through the summer. After a difficult few weeks, Sonia found that staff managed to adapt effectively to new ways of working. She relates how her team approached the prioritisation of their portfolio, a shift in the pace of work, the challenges of a virtual workforce, and more. Through the crisis, Sonia has kept a focus on achieving a lean state and maintaining it at the broadcaster, with senior executives growing in their awareness of the importance of project management.

In this episode, hosted by Project journal’s online editor Mike Hine, we discuss salaries and market trends within the project profession. It’s been an enormously challenging 12 months for every sector of the economy. Project professionals felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from day one, with plans, teams and working practices suddenly thrown into disarray. Project and programme managers have risen to the challenge of the past 12 months by not only keeping existing work on track, but also spearheading crucial efforts to fight back against the pandemic and get the economy moving. But despite the rising profile the project profession is enjoying, the last year has taken its toll. Indeed, COVID-19 permeates the findings of this year’s Salary and Market Trends Survey from APM, carried out in association with YouGov, which canvassed the views of over 2,500 project professionals in November 2020. This episode delves into the findings and analysis in the survey in more detail, with a focus on salary, job satisfaction, diversity and inclusion, economic confidence and more. Thanks to the following interviewees for their contribution: Dayner Proudfoot, APM head of brand and communications Debbie Lewis, chair of the board of trustees for APM, and director of strategic architecture programmes at BT David Thomson, head of external affairs at APM The Salary and Market Trends Survey 2021 is available to download in full now at www.apm.org.uk/salary-survey-2021 Get in touch with the podcast at apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk – and don’t forget to rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts.

In the Crisis Talks season of podcasts, Project journal editor Emma De Vita asks project professionals to share their stories of managing, adapting and pivoting their projects through lockdown and now during this next phase as restrictions are eased. In this episode we meet Andrew Higson, a project manager at Balvac, part of the Balfour Beatty Group, which is a specialist in the repair, strengthening, refurbishment and protection of buildings and civil structures. Andrew manages the successful delivery of infrastructure projects. His current project – Palatine Road – is being undertaken on behalf of Highways England. It involves significant temporary propping to facilitate critical repairs to 15 piers, which carry both carriageways of the M60 across the River Mersey in Greater Manchester. Andrew is also a keen mountaineer and founder of the Black Dog Outdoors mental health charity, which promotes the benefits of outdoor recreation for mental wellbeing. He explains why now, more than ever, it’s important to spend time in nature.

In the Crisis Talks season of podcasts, Project journal editor Emma De Vita asks project professionals to share their stories of managing, adapting and pivoting their projects through lockdown and now as restrictions are eased. In this episode we meet Joanna Rowland, director of HMRC’s COVID-19 Response Unit, responsible for the department’s strategic approach to the pandemic. Joanna is the senior responsible officer in charge of delivering the chancellor’s flagship economic interventions, the Job Retention and Self Employment Income Support schemes, as well as the new Eat Out to Help Out and Job Retention Bonus schemes. Joanna is also the head of the project delivery profession for HMRC and a Fellow of APM. She has been at the heart of the government’s response to the pandemic, so it was a privilege to get some time with her and ask her what it’s been like to be in the thick of it. Read more from Joanna in the upcoming autumn 2020 edition of the Project journal.

In the Project Innovators season of podcasts, Project journal editor Emma De Vita is talking to project professionals who are leading projects in an innovative way at a time when many of us are hoping the world of work and projects can be reset for a post-COVID world.   In this episode we meet Jo Stanford, head of corporate portfolio office at Health Education England, to discuss how she’s leading the collaborative development of the project profession in the NHS. It’s no mean feat. Not only is she trying to knit together a network of project managers across 40 NHS organisations, but she also needs to identify who is doing project work in the first place. It’s a tall mountain to climb, but the ultimate prize is not only to further professionalise project management in the NHS and have it better recognised, but also to create a collaborative network of support and best practice. Jo is a true innovator and there are many lessons others can learn from her about how to raise the status of project management within organisations, formalising and professionalising it and creating a strong network of supportive peers.

In this final episode of the Project Innovators season, Project journal editor Emma De Vita speaks to Bent Flyvbjerg, the first BT professor and inaugural chair of major programme management at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. Bent is one of the big names from the world of project management. He works for the better management of megaprojects and this is the subject which we delve into here, from optimism bias when it comes to cost and benefits estimation to strategic misrepresentation by project champions (otherwise known as bending the truth to secure the go-ahead on a megaproject). The solution? In part, a technique called reference class forecasting. Bent spoke to The APM Podcast in mid-March, when he shared his knowledge, expertise and practical advice on how megaprojects, and projects more generally, can be better planned and managed. Don’t forget to rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts.

In episode one of our first season, Crisis Talks, Emma De Vita (editor of APM’s Project journal) speaks to Lizzie Meadows, a project manager at Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB), whose biorepository project went live just as coronavirus hit the UK. The project has since been able to provide crucial resource and support to QIB genome sequencing scientists’ contribution to the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium. Lizzie’s project to launch an electronic platform to manage human tissue samples – in collaboration with Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital NHS and the University of East Anglia – went live on Monday 23 March, the day the UK went into lockdown and everyone’s world turned upside down. Lizzie talks about how thinking unconventionally, relying on a team who went way beyond what was expected, and never saying ‘never’ were key to its success. This podcast is brought to you by APM, the chartered body for the project profession. For more information on how to join APM, visit apm.org.uk

In June, APM held its annual conference in Birmingham under the heading of ‘Change Changes’. The event explored how the project profession must adapt to the changing nature of change itself in a world of increasing uncertainty and complexity. It emphasised the enormous contribution that projects can, and do, make to forging a cleaner, safer, more prosperous and more inclusive society. 

In this podcast, we’ve compiled some of the key insights that emerged from the first stream of sessions at the conference, which was focused on the transformative impact that projects can have both on individual lives as well as economic, social and physical landscapes. 

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

Professor Adam Boddison meets Martina Blake of the UK Space Agency. Martina heads up the agency’s Office for Project and Programme Management, which she set up in November 2021. She explains that you don’t have to be an astronaut or scientist to work in the space sector – there is a huge variety of roles in project delivery and beyond. And as with other government departments, the UK Space Agency has signalled its commitment to enabling its project professionals to gain formal accreditation and meet their career ambitions. 

Contact: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk 

In this special episode to tie in with APM’s annual Think Differently conference, Emma De Vita, the editor of Project journal, speaks to three ambitious female project professionals to talk about how to have a thriving career despite the barriers that organisational or team culture still persistently put in the way of individual women – women who might also be contending with bias around race or age. Change needs to happen, so let’s find out how to go about doing it from women who are all flourishing in their careers despite the challenges.

On the panel are:

• Debbie Lewis, a portfolio programme manager at Fujitsu Services, and a speaker at APM’s Think Differently Conference
• Anita Phagura, a project manager with a background in transport who now empowers project managers to lead fiercely, authentically, and inclusively
• Emma Regulski, a programme manager at consultancy Faithful + Gould

Get in touch at apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Find out more about Think Differently at https://www.apm.org.uk/think-differently/

In our From the Frontline season, Project journal editor Emma De Vita is meeting project professionals who are working on cutting-edge projects and academics whose research is at the forefront of project management techniques.

In this episode she speaks to Mike Bradley, a senior research associate at the Engineering Design Centre at the University of Cambridge; and Neil Smith, inclusive design lead for HS2 Ltd and one of the Mayor of London’s Design Advocates.

They’ll be explaining exactly what inclusive design is, why it matters for your projects and how to do it well.

For this podcast, Emma invited three high-flyers from the world of projects who also contributed to APM’s Women in Project Management Conference this year, which was a terrific success and a really buzzy event. This follow-up podcast gathers together their career tips for project professionals so that you can benefit from their wonderful advice. On the panel are:

• Jacqueline Okuyemi-Daniel, Tetra Tech Europe
• Daisy Milton, Bass Rock Engineering
• Bel French, Gleeds

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Emma meets Marie Coombes and Sophie Paton to explore how to have difficult conversations as a project manager. With their advice, learn how to approach these conversations without feeling daunted – and why we shouldn't even describe such conversations as ‘difficult’, but rather reframe them as ‘essential’.

Marie is the director of We Restore Calm and a seasoned expert in conflict resolution, mediation and employee engagement, for which she has won several awards. Sophie is an experienced facilitator and partner at Make Happy, a consultancy that helps teams unlock their full potential, solve complex problems and find new ideas.

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

In ‘From the Frontline’, Project journal editor Emma De Vita is meeting project professionals who are working on cutting-edge projects, and academics whose research is at the forefront of project management techniques.

In this episode, we meet Emma Willson, who leads the National Audit Office’s Major Projects Delivery area of focus. She has worked at the NAO for almost 20 years, auditing a wide range of government programmes, from welfare reform to large-scale defence equipment projects.

The NAO audits every government department and some arm’s length bodies, like the BBC, and a large part of its work is looking at major government projects, like Crossrail, HS2, Test and Trace and the government’s vaccine roll-out scheme, to consider whether they represent good value for money.

The NAO also seeks to share lessons in how programmes can be better managed. Its reports include initial learning from the government’s response to the pandemic, and a report on learning from projects done at speed.

We spoke to Emma to find out more about the valuable lessons for project management that the NAO’s unique position affords, in particular to reflect on the successes and failures of the pandemic when it comes to project delivery.

Emma meets Dan Jennings, who recently established a project management office at the UK wing of global media agency Wavemaker. His team has worked on everything from Evian campaigns tied to the Wimbledon tennis tournament to delivering product placement within Married at First Sight on Channel 4. As those creative projects have become more complex, whether through multi-platform content partnerships or the arrival of new channels such as smart speakers and WhatsApp, project management skills have become even more in demand. Hear Dan speak about what it's like to establish a PMO from scratch and introduce professional project management processes and expertise into a sector unfamiliar with it.  

Contact: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk  

In ‘From the Frontline’, Project journal editor Emma De Vita meets project professionals who are working on cutting-edge projects, and academics whose research is at the forefront of project management techniques.

In this episode we meet Gemma Roura Serra, strategic planning director at ABB Formula E. Formula E is the world’s first all-electric single-seater car racing series, conceived to accelerate electric vehicle adoption and demonstrate leadership in the sports world by becoming the only sport to be net-zero carbon since inception. Its races are held in 12 city centres across the world, including London, New York, Paris, Rome, Hong Kong, Moscow and Beijing, where it debuted in 2014. The 45-minute races predominantly take place on 3km circuits and the cars go from 0–100km in 2.8 seconds with a max speed of 160 miles/hour.

With over 20 years of experience in sports management, Gemma offers a strong hands-on background in the motorsports and events industries. In September she was promoted to strategic planning director focusing on calendar and event operations planning and roadmapping.

In this podcast, Gemma shares her experience of masterminding a pioneering project with a sustainable message at its core.

If you’d like a more detailed exploration of her work, please see Gemma’s APM webinar on Formula E, available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAOT9kbUIZI

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

This episode sees Adam Boddison, APM chief executive, in conversation with Joanna Rowland, Director General for Transformation at HMRC. The pair discuss the evolution of the project profession within government, the skills and experience required to thrive in a project role and misconceptions surrounding the profession.

Jo also shares her career origins, including her time with the police, and her experience of working under pressure and amid intense public scrutiny during the pandemic.

If you want to learn more about HMRC’s project to deliver the furlough scheme during the pandemic, check out episode 7 of the APM Podcast, published in 2020.

If you have any comments, feedback or suggestions, contact us at apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

In this episode, Andrew Saunders, business journalist and regular contributor to Project journal, sits down with Mark Wild, ex-CEO of Crossrail.

Mark took over as CEO of Crossrail in 2018 at a time of highly publicised budget and deadline overruns. Fast-forward to May this year, and Mark stepped down as CEO following the long-delayed but much-celebrated opening of the Elizabeth Line. Having successfully turned around such a complex and fraught programme, in this podcast Mark shares his insights into what went wrong in the early years of Crossrail, the changes he made upon becoming CEO and lessons for future complex programmes.

Contact: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk