Public Project Management

(PAD 400)

Dr. Ghada El Gaaly

Session 2

Project Selection
in
The Public Sector
 How Projects are selected
in the Public Sector

Introduction
 As we have previously mentioned, a project is a
“sequence of tasks that has a beginning and an end,
aiming at producing a certain product or service
(outcome) within certain constraints, such as time,
cost, and quality”.
 There is another famous definition stating that
“Government projects use public funds to achieve the
greatest good for the greatest number, seeking to
effectively turn government policies into effective
products and services”.
 How Projects are selected in the
Public Sector:
 First, we have to understand that effective and
efficient selection of projects is an important
issue for every organization (public or private),
and should be associated with its vision and
strategies.
 However, the decision making process is highly
complex in public organizations because they
have to consider multiple conflicting factors and a
wider picture than private ones.
 How Projects are selected in the
Public Sector:
 In the public sector, there is a large number of
possible uses of resources and the efficient use of
resources has an important impact on the welfare
of citizens. Therefore, there are always
alternatives that need comparison.
 In the project selection process, decision makers
must be assured that the selected project will
contribute to the overall welfare and development
of the society.
Selecting projects Steps:

 Researchers mentioned some steps that help

in selecting projects properly:
1) Define the goals, the operations, the cost
and everything of significance for the project.
2) List the conditions necessary for the
achievement of goals.
3) Develop alternatives for achieving the
goals. At least two possible ways to achieve a
goal should exist.
 Selecting projects Steps:
(Continued)

4) Determine verification measures that are also

suitable for the proposed alternatives. A possible list
of evaluation criteria would be: cost, feasibility,
availability, sustainability, etc.
5) Determine the advantages of the alternatives
according to the evaluation measures.
6) Submit to the decision maker a written report
explaining all considerations, analyses and
conclusions from the previous steps.
Criteria Analysis for Selecting
Projects:
 In an important research conducted by (Bellos, et
al., 2010), researchers came out with multiple sets
of specific criteria that must be taken into
consideration by any public organization while
selecting a project.
 Those sets are: Technical, economic, sustainable/
environmental, political and social.
 However, it’s important to highlight that the
complexity of taking the decision is also due to the
various tangible and intangible factors that need to
be taken into account.
Criteria Analysis for Selecting
Projects: (continued)
 In other words, management decisions
concerning the prioritization of projects
proposals are directed by both internal and
external factors.
 The internal factors are concerned with:
 Resources requirements and availability
 The organization experience in managing
similar projects
 The time frame of the projects
 Criteria Analysis for Selecting
Projects: (continued)
 The external dynamic factors are concerned with:
 Political atmosphere

 The risk/return ratio

 The target-market needs

 The governmental policies and regulations
 The socio-economic climate
 The legal implications

 The technological implications

 The number of stakeholders whose interests may be
conflicting
 Criteria Analysis for Selecting
Projects: (continued)

 However, no “one-size formula fits all” could be applied.

 In other words, the selection factors can be further
specified according to the organization and the project
type. Sometimes, political factors related to a project
play much more important role than technical or other
more rational ones in selecting or rejecting it.
 In the following part, we will go into more details about
the approach through which a project is selected among
other different projects.
 Criteria Analysis for Selecting
Projects: (continued)
Important factors that must be well-studied and
compared among different projects proposals before
selection:
 1) The Economic Set:

It controls the economic part of the decision and

consists of two elements:
- Investment fundability (availability of resources for
funding the project, including the possibility of
receiving external funding)
- Investment financial analysis (cost, return, benefit)
Criteria Analysis for Selecting
Projects: (continued)
 2) The Policy/Political Set:
It consists of the main elements that determine
policy-related criteria such as:
- The alignment of the project to the organization
vision and strategic Policies
- the urgency of the project (not only the real
urgency for providing a specific need, but also
possible deadlines concerning opportunities for
receiving external funds for the project)
- The projected public perception of the project
Criteria Analysis for Selecting
Projects: (continued)
 3) The Social Set:
It is related to the effect of the project on the
citizens and the society. It consists of two
elements:
- The possible benefits for the society
- The contribution of the project to local
employment
Criteria Analysis for Selecting
Projects: (continued)
 4) The Sustainable Development Set:
It is related to all the elements concerning the
environment and the regional development
including:
- The environmental impact of the project (in the
local region, as well as in national level)
- The general expected contribution of the
project to local development.
 Criteria Analysis for Selecting
Projects: (continued)
 5) The Technical Set:
It controls the technical characteristics of each project
that influence the final decision. It consists of:
- Project maturity of implementation (availability of
factors needed for implementation like relevant
studies, resolved legal issues, land expropriation
needs, etc.)
- Availability and technical ability of the human
resources of the organization to monitor the project
- Regulatory needs (any regulatory/legal actions needed
for implementing the project).
 Criteria Analysis for Selecting
Projects: (continued)
 6) Alternatives Set:
It includes all other proposed projects described by
the five previously mentioned sets.
 Additionally, researches and statistics provide
statistical and analytical tools and software that
are able to visualize the impact of various factors
on the final outcome and provide an evaluation
result that can be communicated to various
decision makers and stakeholders.
After Analysis Steps:
 Then, decision makers and public project
managers, who should be experts in terms of
knowing how this result interacts in the real
environment, study the submitted reports and
select the most suitable project.
After Analysis Steps:
(continued)

 But, it is worth noting that the taken decision

indicates that, under the up-to-date
conditions, social or political factors might be
favored over economic ones, or vice versa.
 In other words, a project with major socio-
political impact might be chosen over a more
economic compensative project because of
certain present conditions.
 Conclusion:
 Finally, it is important to notice that each
country political and economic system has a
great influence on the procedure by which
projects are selected.
 For example, a democratic capitalistic country,
where power is shared among several entities,
projects selection procedure is different than the
one in an authoritarian under-developed
country.
 Conclusion:

 Nevertheless, the more scientifically-based

procedure is used, the more public trust,
accountability and transparency are ensured in
the public administration of any given country.
Thank you for Today