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Construction projects are risky. However, the characteristics of the risk highly depend on the type of procurement being adopted for managing the project. A build‐operate‐transfer (BOT) project is recognized as one of the most risky project schemes. There are instances of project failure where a BOT scheme was employed. Ineffective rts are increasingly being managed using various risk management tools and techniques. However, application of those tools depends on the nature of the project, organization's policy, project management strategy, risk attitude of the project team members, and availability of the resources. Understanding of the contents and contexts of BOT projects, together with a thorough understanding of risk management tools and techniques, helps select processes of risk management for effective project implementation in a BOT scheme. This paper studies application of risk management tools and techniques in BOT projects through reviews of relevant literatures and develops a model for selecting risk management process for BOT projects. The application to BOT projects is considered from the viewpoints of the major project participants. Discussion is also made with regard to political risks. This study would contribute to the establishment of a framework for systematic risk management in BOT projects.

It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields but who have a common interest in the means by which information may be collected and disseminated to the greatest advantage. Lists of its members have, therefore, a more than ordinary value since they present, in miniature, a cross‐section of institutions and individuals who share this special interest.

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of research into the principles and procedures associated with value management (VM) and assess its use and effectiveness within the construction industry in Northern Ireland. It provides a brief review of the principles, various procedures and methods associated with VM, investigates the positive and negative factors relating to its use whilst analysing the extent of its usage and determining its effectiveness.

Using a mixed method approach, the authors present the results of a survey of construction professionals operating in Northern Ireland and provide an examination of three case studies exploring the use of VM within the Northern Ireland construction industry.

In an industry where the client's needs and demands are of paramount importance, VM has emerged as a tool which can help satisfy these needs. This study shows that VM is frequently used within the Northern Ireland construction industry and on the whole is quite effective. However, the research exposed a general consensus that the VM process is frequently not implemented at the most appropriate stage of a project, which suggests that if it was, it could perhaps be more effective than it is at present. There is an apparent lack of formal methods used to carry out the VM process. Instead, rather loose and informal methods are used.

In the absence of a similar study that analyses the factors that influence the VM process highlighting and documenting the views and opinions expressed by the professionals within today's industry and reviewing the effectiveness of its usage, this paper documents a snapshot of practice of VM within the Northern Ireland construction industry.

Effective and robust governance of major projects and programmes in the public sector is crucial to the accountability of the state and the transparency of state spending. The theoretical discourse on governance, in the context of projects and programmes, is not fully mature, although is now sufficiently well developed to warrant an increased scholarly focus on practice. This paper aims to contribute to the empirical literature through a study of assurance routines in the UK Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

A framework analysis approach to the evaluation of a subset of GMPP database generates original insights into (1) the framing of assurance review recommendations, (2) the treatment of assurance review data and (3) the subsequent tracking of the implementation of actions arising from the assurance review process.

The analysis reveals that the “delivery confidence” of the major projects and programmes included in this study improves during the time that they are assured on the GMPP. This would suggest that “enhanced” governance routines are desirable in programmes and projects that exhibit high degrees of complexity and scale.

The research findings contribute to the wider conversations in this journal and elsewhere on project governance routines and governance-as-practice in the context of government and public services.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the usability of systems thinking in the process of redesigning a leading public housing provider within a problematic situation. The paper attempts to describe the influence of evolving negative internal socio‐political arrangements on the further development of the whole organization and suggests a purposeful activity model based on constant improvement and collaborative learning for the ongoing intervention.

The study combines soft systems methodology, as the leading or guiding methodology, with case study research and action research. This rather pluralistic approach made it possible to adequately respond to the varying tasks and intricacies of the different research phases within a power‐laden environment. Each phase or part of the process was informed by the analysis of the preceding one, thus creating a documented learning process.

The results reveal that further development within the project‐oriented organization was hindered or blocked by failure to address the oppressive socio‐political system. The proposed new design, based on systems thinking, allocates an important role to project management and its ability to cope with different paradigms and to address tame, messy as well as wicked problems. Consequently, the discipline of project management should further develop towards an equal appreciation of hard as well as soft systems thinking which emphasises a critical systems thinking approach.

The project management capabilities needed in the complex housing system go beyond the strategic and operational level since a greater understanding of complex social systems as well as their behaviour is of major importance. This puts emphasis on problem structuring methods and methodologies, as well as their combination, so as to support the debate about the nature of organizational as well as societal problems rather than to focus on their solution.

The paper describes the first soft systems methodology intervention in a predominantly francophone country within the European Union. It proposes a new avenue to the management of organizational as well as societal problems.