Subscribe

PMI SA calls for 2019 Summit submissions

By Marilyn de Villiers
Johannesburg, 26 Jun 2018

The South African chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI) has called for submissions of abstracts of papers to be presented at its 2019 Summit in Johannesburg. The deadline for submissions is 15 July.

Next year's summit, which is scheduled to take place on 19 February, will examine the role projects and project management are playing and can play in the transformation of the South African economy and society.

The theme of the summit is "Projectification of South Africa: Building capacity to lead and succeed". The term "projectification" was coined in 1995 to indicate the ever-increasing share of work that is done through projects.

According to the PMI, projects and project management are about more than schedules, charts and other tools; rather they are about value creation and social processes used to deliver benefits.

  • Among the questions the summit organisers hope will be answered during the proceedings include: What does the increasing use of projects or "projectification" mean for South Africa?
  • What is the impact of project management on leadership and on the ability to bring about successful change by business, government, NGOs and society as a whole?

The summit will consist of presentations in a variety of formats: individual presentations, expert panels, workshops, lightning (TED-like) talks, and caf'e conversations (structured conversations and knowledge sharing around caf'e tables, facilitated by caf'e hosts).

Among the suggested topics the summit organisers are hoping to address are:

  • The national impact of projects and project management;
  • Selecting the right projects for benefits and value creation;
  • Projects and project management as part of organisational strategic processes;
  • Project management and impact assessment;
  • Public service projects;
  • Appropriate project management methodologies;
  • Agile approaches;
  • Building professional project management capacity;
  • Project management influences on leadership;
  • Projects and transformation;
  • The role of the project management office;
  • How project management can support entrepreneurial development;
  • Project management and inclusivity and diversity;
  • Project governance and transparency;
  • Project work in the NGO sector and in the arts;
  • Ethics and anti-corruption measures in projects; and
  • Project management and sustainability.

However, submissions on other topics will be considered, provided they are free of commercial sales content and are not supported by promotional materials. In addition, the presentations should not have previously been published or presented at another conference.

The PMI Summit Programme Team will use the following criteria to evaluate submissions:

  • Relevance to the conference theme;
  • Originality and newness of the information or perspective;
  • Knowledge content which should be at an intermediate or advanced level;
  • Innovative presentation style or content; and
  • Relevance to the latest PMBOK 6th edition.

Submissions will only be accepted for consideration until 15 July. They should include an abstract of between 350 to 500 words in PDF format. It must be e-mailed to submissions@pmisummit2019.co.za. Further details are available here.

Notification of submission acceptance will be made on 15 August. Thereafter, the full presentation will have to be submitted for review by 30 September.

Share