A Lancaster University professor, with a reputation as a leader and innovator in project management has produced a key work to shape the future of the discipline.

Professor Darren Dalcher, Chair in Strategic Project Management at Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) and Director of the National Centre for Project Management is one of the architects behind the Association for Project Management (APM)’s new Body of Knowledge.

The work lays out the path forward for the project management profession – emphasising the need to work for the benefits of society and the environment, as well as for business.

The Body of Knowledge has expanded over time to reflect the role of project­-based working in achieving change at strategic and operational levels, encompassing the development of new or amended products, processes or other capabilities across the private, public and third sectors.

The seventh edition of the work – the first since the APM was awarded its Royal Charter in 2017, establishing project management as a recognised profession in UK and overseas – was officially launched in London on Thursday, May 2, at the body’s annual conference.

Professor Dalcher said: “With chartered status, the Body of Knowledge takes on greater significance, and serves as an authoritative statement on project management and the foundation on which the profession is built.

“It looks at achieving beneficial change through project­-based working and represents the core beliefs – an ethos – upon which projects cannot only be deployed successfully, but also to the benefit of society, the economy and the environment.”

Professor Darren Dalcher with the APM Body of Knowledge

Professor Dalcher is an established expert within the project management sphere, having worked with the likes of British Telecom, nPower, NASA, Mitsubishi, Wembley Stadium, GE, British Airways and Lloyds Maritime, and having built a reputation as a leader and innovator in practice-based education in project management.

He designed, developed and launched the UK’s first professional doctorate in project management, alongside an extensive suite of executive and professional masters programmes and diplomas.

He recently moved the National Centre for Project Management, an interdisciplinary centre of excellence which works with industry, government, third sector organisations and the learned societies, to LUMS.

Professor Dalcher said: “It is encouraging to see learned associations recognise the impact and contribution of academic insight and I am delighted that they have invited us to take the lead in positioning, shaping and directing the future of the project management profession.

“The release of a new edition of the body of knowledge is an important opportunity for the profession to reflect upon, update and reposition both knowledge and practice. This edition offers a step change in terms of our ability to frame projects, consider their wider impacts on organisations, focus on benefits and value, and adopt a more responsible and professional approach to project work.”

The new edition of the Body of Knowledge reflects Professor Dalcher’s passion for incorporating strategic considerations into project work, and the realisation of beneficial change. The new structure aims to include senior leaders in critical decisions around strategy throughout projects, programmes and portfolios, positioning the profession as a responsible and reflective management discipline.