An empirical illustration of public project ownership

This paper studies different aspects of project ownership in public projects. First, project ownership and project governance are discussed. We find that literature on project management tends to assume that one organisation has the characteristics of an owner. A review of seven public projects shows that the characteristics of project ownership are spread between several different organisations. Based on these results, we challenge the stereotype of a single project owner. In an attempt to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of project ownership, the paper introduces a framework for description and analysis of project owner roles on strategic and tactical levels. The descriptive model for project ownership offers an improved definition of the owner role, by defining the most important owner functions on both strategic and tactical levels. We also point out the interfaces with other project roles. We have tested the framework on public and private sector cases and conclude that the model can be applied on both types of projects. The model appears transferable to other countries and government models than the Norwegian one alone, even though some adaptations may be necessary. Some potential further developments are suggested.