ULUSLARARASI KALKINMA VE KAPASİTE GELİŞTİRME PROJELERİNDE ÇALIŞAN PROJE YÖNETİCİLERİNİN GÖREVLERİ, SORUMLULUKLARI VE YÖNETSEL YETKİNLİKLERİ

Abstract

Project-based grants are frequently used in development aid aimed at improving the economic and social welfare of underdeveloped countries and developing countries. There are various managerial factors that influence the project success and long-term sustainability in international development and capacity building projects. One of these managerial factors is project managers’ competencies working in these projects. Some classifications such as individual, technical, interpersonal and organizational are made in the researches in this field. Competencies highlighted in the literature include critical and analytical thinking, conceptual design, focusing on needs, results orientation, flexibility, sensitivity to ethics and cultural diversity, interpersonal communication, teamwork, stakeholder management in complex environments, conflict management, crisis management and negotiation management. The purpose of this research is to examine the competencies of project managers working in international development and capacity building projects. Qualitative research method and phenomenological analysis approach were preferred in the study. Data were collected with the help of semi-structured open-ended questions and in-depth interview technique. Participants, who were selected based on purposive sampling, consist of employees of a public institution that provides project-based grants to international and development capacity building projects. Although the number of employees in the relevant department is eight, four participants with at least ten years of experience and in-depth knowledge constitute the sample of the study. Interview questions were prepared based on the competencies in the literature and the four-dimensional competencies model suggested by the PM4NGOs. Each of the eleven interview questions focused on the literature dimensions/categories, which are discussed in detail in various subsections of the thesis. Codes were created from data obtained from written answers and face-to-face interviews, and were distributed to the relevant categories. Therefore, the study is mostly based on deductive interpretive content analysis. According to the research findings, among the competencies pointed out by the participants are having intellectual creativity, having the foresight, having the ability to analyze, being able to negotiate, having strong communication, being able to network, being solution-oriented, being able to empathize, exhibiting leadership, exhibiting teamwork skills, having the ability to design, being able to identify needs, being able to manage limited time, being experienced in financial resource allocation, having the occupational skills, being able to control costs, being experienced in monitoring/evaluation and being able to make risk analysis. The research is expected to contribute to the literature in terms of focusing on the competencies of the project managers in the financial authority, which is one of the institutional actors in international development and capacity building projects.