NCJ Number
215267
Date Published
2006
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines the role of project management within community safety and crime reduction initiatives and discusses the characteristics of projects and their management that can be problematic.
Abstract
Project management has been identified as a key ingredient in successful community safety initiatives. As such, it is often articulated that the absence of project management coincides with an absence of implementation success. With that said, there have been a number of areas in which community safety/crime reduction-related project management has been weak. One such weakness has been the governance or oversight of projects. Common problems emerging from weak project management include: poor articulation of the problem, weak interventions, delays in implementation, and cost overruns. These weaknesses point toward the need for stronger project management. The dynamic project lifecycle model provides a tool for understanding how projects develop over time and for identifying how such projects can be managed more effectively. The dynamic project lifecycle was developed in 1998 and has a series of built-in change mechanisms. It recognizes the fact that projects seldom run smoothly and often change considerably between the initial idea and the completion of implementation. The model consists of four key phases: (1) conception and definition; (2) planning and scheduling; (3) executing the project work; and (4) handover and closure. Figure, references