Doktorsvörn - Þórður Víkingur Friðgeirsson
Improvement of the Governance and Management of Icelandic Public Projects
Þórður Víkingur Friðgeirsson
Föstudaginn 6. febrúar kl. 15:00 í stofu M104.
Andmælandi: Dr. Kalle Kähkönen, prófessor, Tampere University of Technology
Leiðbeinendur: Dr. Brian Atkin, prófessor, Lund University og Queensland University of Technology Australia
Dr. Páll Jensson, prófessor, Háskólinn í Reykjavík
Dr. Helgi Þór Ingason, dósent, Háskólinn í Reykjavík
Abstract
The thesis investigates the application of formal project management, and related disciplines, in order to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of Icelandic public projects. It is argued that project management has impacted governance frameworks at the international level in the attempt to ensure the interests of the tax payer when public capital is invested. Contemporary international development is compared with the legal arrangement and the deployment of public project in Iceland.
The thesis is structured around five loosely related studies. Together they improve our understanding of the problems encountered in the public project lifecycle both from procedural and cognitive standpoints.
Firstly, we investigate how feasibility studies are arranged and implemented in the conception phase of six Icelandic public projects compared with international best practises. Secondly, the legal arrangement and official directives supporting the formal governance framework of public projects in Iceland are compared with similar procedures in the UK, Norway and international standards (PMBOK®). Thirdly, we investigate the self perceived risk attitude function of Icelandic parliamentarians in comparison with the self perceived risk attitude function of managers in the private sector. The fourth study asks if the road tunnel project Vaðlaheiðargöng would be likely to be accepted as a state liability if Norwegian official due diligence criteria's had been applied at the initial go/no-go stage of the project? The last study investigates if a new method, reference class forecasting, is likely to improve forecasting accuracy at the Icelandic Road Administration (ICERA) when the planned cost of transport infrastructure project is decided?
The results indicate a significant room for improvements within the Icelandic public project governance framework. The public framework is lagging behind the minimum standards to be expected in a developed country.
Lastly, points of improvements are put forth and argued for.
