Project management office in the public sector: a conceptual roadmap

Abstract

Most public institutions nowadays use projects to implement their development activities. Based on in-depth literature review, this paper presents a conceptual model for establishing Project Management Office (PMO) in public sector. The paper analyses the role of PMO in successful project management, the value of PMO with the focus on the PMO in public sector, and presents a summary of theoretically proven and in practice validated project management methodologies, models and approaches. Based on systematic literature review and almost 20 years of working experience in the field, the main result of this paper is the nine-stage model for establishing of PMO in public sector. Finally, the paper emphasizes the necessity of dedicated time and resources, as well as a support of experts, training, infrastructure, government, and decision-makers.