In order to be effective, I always group my Primary e-mails into “urgent” and “convenient time” following Google’s attempt at classification. When I saw an email invitation to a Project Management Stakeholders Forum, I immediately tucked it into “convenient time” until I saw Sheraton Hotels – “Ok, these guys mean business!” I was impressed with the initiative but due to clash in my calendar, I sent a colleague to represent me and she brought the following report: 50 stakeholders were invited from different Professions, R.E.Ps, Individuals, and Academicians, but 25 stakeholders were present.
The overall objective of the Harmonized Project Management Association of Nigeria (HPMAN) is to create a single platform for Project Management Practitioners in Nigeria and to ensure Project Management becomes a way of life.
In order to achieve the aforementioned, a 9 member Committee was ratified by PROMACON in June 2013 and the main objective of the forum is to validate all that has been done by the committee till 25th of February, 2014 and also to decide if the committee should be dissolved and new one appointed or the committee should continue. Prof. Gibson Okorafor with support from other stakeholders in attendance said the committee should continue, recommending a committee of minimum of 9 members and 13 at maximum.
6 issues were deliberated at the forum and led the thought process. The house was further broken into 3 teams and each team deliberated on 2 issues each.
The sub-themes are:
- Statutory Regulation (how do we regulate PM practice in Nigeria? Who decides who should be called a Project Manager?)
- Voluntary Association (should the body established a broad based association?)
- Education (should Project Management be offered at undergraduate level?)
- Certification
- Different representation of Int’l associations
- Relationship with project focused organization
It is also agreed to, that the committee will put together, the outcome of the deliberation to pursue the setting-up of the new association.
After deliberation the 3 teams came up with the following recommendations:
- That the association will over time put an assessment committee in place to verify the quality of project management experience,
- That the minimum requirement is Secondary School Certificate because of the existing benchmark,
- That project management over the years will be included in the Secondary School Curriculum and will also be extended to primary school level since it is all about knowledge and discipline,
- That an inclusion approach should be used to welcome all existing local associations and control proliferation of new ones,
