Beyond Traditional Project Management: The Role of Projects and Programs in Responding to Societal and Humanitarian Issues
DETAILS
Call for Papers – Beyond Traditional Project Management: The Role of Projects and Programs in Responding to Societal and Humanitarian Issues
Journal: International Journal of Managing Projects in Business
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Submission deadline: 31 October 2026
This special issue explores how projects and programs can respond to societal and humanitarian challenges such as climate change, conflict, displacement, forced repatriation, and AI‑driven labour disruptions. It invites research that moves beyond classical project management frameworks to examine purpose‑driven, value‑oriented, and locally‑grounded ways of initiating, organizing, and delivering projects that aim to improve human well‑being and social justice.
Types of research this SI invites
Type of research | Typical focus |
|---|---|
Theorised empirical case studies | Projects addressing societal or humanitarian concerns, using innovative methods and rich theoretical grounding |
Methodological contributions | Novel, participatory, or practice‑based methods for project and program studies |
Guest editors
Prof Shobha Ramalingam, NICMAR, India
Prof Stewart Clegg, University of Sydney, Australia
Dr Efrosyni Konstantinou, University College London, UK
Dr Suhair Zaid Alkilani, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Prof Shankar Sankaran, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
List of suggested topic areas
Projects and programs addressing conflicts, climate change, forced displacement, and AI‑related labour disruptions
Participatory and locally contextual methods (e.g., participatory action research, storytelling, causal layered analysis) in project and program management
Glocal and innovative sustainable practices in projects and communities
Social network and coopetition‑focused methods in project ecologies
Theories of power, paradox, realist social theory, and socio‑cognitive theory applied to project and program design
Sociotechnical transition theories and complexity/systems approaches to humanitarian and societal projects
Program evaluation focusing on social justice, sustainability, and inclusion
Practice‑oriented and critical perspectives on how purpose, value, and stakeholder needs replace traditional “time–cost–quality” criteria
Submission information
Submissions open on 15 December 2025 and must be made via ScholarOne Manuscripts:
https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijmpb
At the step “Please select the issue you are submitting to”, select the special issue title.
Follow the journal’s Author Guidelines:
https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/ijmpb
Articles must not have been published previously or be under consideration elsewhere while under review.
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