UK Space Agency

Memorandum submitted by the Project Management Institute (UKSA 24)

Executive Summary

1. PMI is the world’s largest global association for project managers, existing to advocate and advance the practice, science and profession of project management across the world. We currently have more than 500,000 members and credential holders in 183 countries and are recognised globally as a practice standards development and credentialing organisation.

2. Our longstanding work with NASA highlights the importance of an embedded culture of project and programme management to space policy nationally and internationally, impacting three central areas, all of which are key to the success of space policy: skills, networking and international collaboration.

3. Project and programme management has been at the centre of all NASA activity since the Challenger shuttle disaster in 1986. The Academy of Program and Project Engineering Leadership (APPEL) under the leadership of Dr Edward Hoffman has led much of this work, and NASA aligns their internal levels of expertise to PMI credentials.

4. NASA engineers and project/programme managers regularly attend APPEL programmes, with the certifications they gain being closely aligned to PMI’s own certifications. PMI provides a uniform global language for project management, a language shared by the national space agencies of countries across the world, including Brazil, Germany, South Africa, Japan and India.

5. Going forward, this international dialogue will ensure that there is a sustained, talented pool of project managers in the space industry well into the future. At a time when recruitment and talent management remain challenged, such skills development initiatives are crucial to future success.

6. International collaboration and networking is also vital in an international industry driven by the need to exchange knowledge and best practices to the benefit of all. PMI has worked closely with NASA to this end and is a founder member – and the only non-space agency association member - of the International Project/Program Management Committee (IPPMC) of the International Astronautical Federation. PMI’s own Global Executive Council also exists to further co-operation in the field of project management across industries globally.

7. The IPPMC committee has been set up primarily to encourage the exchange of information in fields such as curriculum development, knowledge sharing, performance enhancement and research especially as they relate to project and programme management. It has been founded on the clear principle that holistic project and programme management is integral to space policy. PMI’s standards again provide the committee with a global language that all can utilise.

8. We urge the UK Space Agency to take these points into account and participate in similar initiatives going forward. PMI stands ready to help in this regard and looks forward to engaging both with the Science and Technology Committee and the Space Agency as it proceeds with its important work.

Introduction

9. The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world’s largest global association and a leading advocate for the project management profession. Our goal is to advance the practice, science and profession of project management across the world.

10. Founded in 1969, PMI has helped project managers across the world, allowing individuals to speak one project management language regardless of their industry or geography, or whether they manage projects, programmes or portfolios. We currently have more than 500,000 members and credential holders in 183 countries.

11. The Institute is also a leader in global project management research. Working with universities across the UK, Europe, Asia and the USA, PMI’s research informs the practice of project management, and its real-world application sparks further research, creates new knowledge, enables development of best practice throughout the profession and ultimately advances the discipline of project management. PMI has expended over 12 Million Pounds supporting its global research effort since 1997.

12. PMI welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Science and Technology Committee’s current inquiry into the UK Space Agency. We believe that our experience of space policy elsewhere in the globe is instructive in the context of this inquiry, and highlights the importance of project and programme management to effective space policy. In particular, we have extensive experience working with NASA in both the North American and global environments, which we describe below.

13. NASA is a member of PMI’s Global Executive Council, the world’s premier project, programme and portfolio management networking group. Boeing is also a member of the Council, with other organisations such as MBDA Missile Systems, BAE Systems, Airbus, the US Federal Aviation Administration, and EADS Astrium enjoying a strong relationship with PMI. The next meeting of the Council on 21-23 September is being hosted by NASA, exploring two of the key themes in space policy project management discourse – complex project management and innovation.

14. This submission focuses on how the UK Space Agency can work with other national and international bodies on space issues, and on our views of the UK Space Agency’s priorities for the next five years. This is informed by our ongoing work with NASA, a key member of PMI’s Global Executive Council. We consider three areas in our submission:

· Skills and training;

· Networking; and

· International collaboration.

UK space policy: guiding principles

15. The UK Civil Space Strategy for 2008-2012, now overseen by the UK Space Agency, sets out an ambitious vision for the future of UK space policy. This is guided by five primary objectives, all of which are laudable:

· Win an increasing share of the global market in space systems, services and applications in the race to develop tomorrow’s economy;

· Deliver a world-leading exploitation of space systems for managing our changing planet;

· Be a partner of choice in global scientific missions to explore the Universe;

· Benefit society by strengthening innovation from space, and stimulate the creation of new products and services for everyday use; and;

· Develop a major channel for skills development and outreach for a high technology future, and improve public and political recognition of the value of space systems as part of the critical national infrastructure.

16. All of the objectives will contribute to a stronger and more coherent UK space policy by 2012. In our view, the implementation of this policy should be guided by two core principles –the need to build international partnerships, and the importance of project/programme management. These principles are particularly important given the focus that always needs to be placed on safety.

The centrality of project management to space policy

17. NASA’s work with PMI and on project management has been guided by the overriding importance of project management to enable safe and efficient operations. PMI believes that the example of NASA is instructive to the inquiry the Science and Technology Committee is currently undertaking. We are aware that the UK Space Agency already works closely with NASA and has recently signed a Statement of Intent, demonstrating the clear value of the relationship.

18. After the Challenger Shuttle disaster in January 1986, NASA realised that programme and project management had to be at the centre of all of its work and at the centre of all its staff development plans. As a result, the Academy of Program and Project Engineering Leadership (APPEL) was created to promote individual and team excellence in project and programme management and engineering through the application of learning strategies, methods, models and tools. Many of the methods and tools used in this context are PMI-related and Dr Edward Hoffman, the Academy’s Director, is an active PMI member.

19. NASA engineers and project/programme managers, ranging from basic through to advanced levels, now go through APPEL, ensuring that a high standard of training runs through the whole organisation. NASA internal certifications are aligned with PMI certifications, with acknowledgement of the need for a global language for project management. Indeed, most national space agencies, ranging from Brazil and India to Japan, Germany and South Korea, align their methodologies and standards with PMI, hence aiding and indeed promoting international collaboration on space policy.

20. Ensuring that there is a sustained, talented pool of project managers going into the space industry will be even more important in the future. Recruitment and talent management remain problems; we are aware, for example, that the European Space Agency is facing a 20% drop in project managers owing to retirement. PMI is working to mitigate this, providing resources and encouragement for more schools to teach project management at various levels.

Networking and international collaboration

21. We have outlined above, the importance of proper skills and training in the disciplines of project and programme management in space policy. In this submission, we focus on two other closely related areas which we believe should be at the centre of UK space policy going forward: networking and international collaboration.

22. Space is by its very nature an international industry in which exchange of knowledge and best practices between national organisations on a global basis can work to the benefit of all. National space industries can also learn both from work being undertaken by their peers elsewhere in the globe, and from project and programme management activities in other related industries.

23. Despite this, there has until recently been no formal mechanism for space agencies to communicate with each other.

International space collaboration

24. NASA has informally promoted international collaboration in the past through its Project Management Challenge event, held this year in February 2010 in Galveston, Texas, USA. This event, which PMI has been proud to support, is based on the knowledge that space is an increasingly international endeavour and our future collective vision will be feasible only through extensive international collaboration. Over fifty national space agencies, including the European Space Agency, participated in this year’s event, presenting international case studies on co-operative projects, successful partnerships, the International Space Station Programme and opportunities for the future.

25. Recognising the lack of formal mechanisms for inter-Space Agency communication, Dr Edward Hoffman last year chaired a planning session involving PMI and eight space agencies from around the world to discuss opportunities for more formal engagement, particularly on project and programme management issues as they impact on space policy. This session included, amongst others, the European Space Agency and the national agencies of Japan, Germany, Korea, Brazil, India and South Africa.

26. The result was an agreement to formally approach the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). Subsequently, the International Project/Program Management Committee has been established as an administrative committee of the IAF and terms of reference have been put in place. PMI is the only non-space agency association represented on this body.

International Project/Program Management Committee

27. The IPPMC’s mission is focused on exchanging information, discussing mutual activities and sharing best practices for enhancing project and programme management expertise through:

· Curriculum development;

· Knowledge sharing;

· Performance enhancement; and

· Research activities.

28. The committee has been founded on the clear principle that holistic project and programme management is integral to space policy. PMI’s standards provide a global language for the committee given its track record as the longest organisation active in supporting the profession of project management.

29. The UK Space Agency is already a member of the IAF and we would encourage it to participate in the International Project/Program Management Committee. The committee is actively encouraging the participation of all countries with space interests, with new members proposed by existing committee members. The next meeting of the IPPMC will convene on September 25, 2010 immediately prior to the International Astronautical Congress in Prague, Czech Republic.

Global Executive Council

30. PMI itself took the decision to formalise its own work in encouraging collaboration across the project management sphere in creating the Global Executive Council which currently has 41 members. This will work to the benefit of space agencies, government departments and companies by encouraging the very best in project management practice globally. The Council engages an unrivalled community of multinational businesses and government organisations from around the world in endorsing the value of project management, and is proud to count NASA amongst its founder members. Other members include Boeing and IBM.

Conclusion

31. PMI looks forward to engaging with the committee and the UK Space Agency as the development of UK space strategy is taken forward in the coming months. The example of PMI’s work with NASA, and our involvement in the evolution of the International Project/Program Management Committee shows the centrality agencies are placing on project management in the space policy sphere, and the importance of promoting international collaboration and initiatives that work to develop the global project management skills base.

32. We urge the UK Space Agency to take these points into account and participate in initiatives such as the IP/PMC going forward. The Project Management Institute would be eager to assist the UK Space Agency as it takes these challenges forward, and to ensure that UKSA is fully linked into the important work both NASA and the committee are undertaking in this regard.

Project Management Institute

August 2010