Welcome to SusProLab:

Background: Sustainable Project Management

Focussing project management on the achievement of long-term goals (impact) has been along-standing focus of project management research under the term ‘sustainable project management’. Analysing development projects from the perspective of impact orientation was and is an important starting point.

In addition, participatory methods play a major role, especially in projects involving the public sector and civil society actors. Sustainability is understood holistically, taking economic and social sustainability factors into account alongside ecology (people-planet-profit, PPP). Suitable project management can therefore make a significant contribution to the success of development projects. Important aspects are the adaptation to small projects, the necessary competences of the actors, participation and stakeholder management, the understanding of impact structures and change management.

Methodology

• Literature review
• Meta-study of empirical quantitative studies
• Focus group / qualitative interviews

Our Impact

Co-Supervised Master’s Theses

• Paula Adams (FH DO): Project Management Methodologies of International Development Agencies and the Concept of Sustainable Project Management

• Sharqa Altaf (COMSATS): Integrating Sustainability Measures in International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) Projects: A Case of CARE Pakistan

• Blend Gashi (FH DO): Title tba.

• Mahnoor Minhas (COMSATS): Exploring Challenges to the Sustainability of Development Projects: A Case of Micro Hydropower Projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

• Mehtab Ur Rehman (COMSATS): Sustainable Operational Management of Base Transceiver Stations in Pakistan – Challenges and Underlying Dynamics

• Fatima Sehar (COMSATS): Role of Industry 4.0 in Circular Economy to Achieve Sustainability in Building Construction Projects

• Saara Sheneen (FH DO): Title tba.

Research Publications

• Altaf, Sharqa, Khan, Rao Aamir, Wolff, Carsten, Albrecht, Jan Christoph. (2025). Integrating Sustainability Measures in International Non-Governmental Organization Projects. 13^th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Data Acquisition and Advanced Computing Systems (IDAACS), Gliwice, Poland. (accepted, forthcoming)

• Albrecht, Jan Christoph, Adams, Paula, Wolff, Carsten. (2025). Project Management Methodologies of International Development

Agencies and the Concept of Sustainable Project Management. 11^th South Asian International Conference (SAICON), Islamabad, Pakistan.

• Nadir Ali, Shazia, Albrecht, Jan Christoph, Cruz-Villazon, Carolina, et al. (2025). Sustainable Project Management for Regional Development. IEEE European Technology and Engineering Management Summit (E-TEMS), Bruges, Belgium.

• Sehar, Fatima, Wolff, Carsten, Albrecht, Jan Christoph, Khan, Rao Aamir. (2025). Role of Industry 4.0 in Circular Economy to Achieve Sustainability in

Building Construction Projects. 11^th South Asian International Conference (SAICON), Islamabad, Pakistan.

• Wolff, Carsten, Nadir Ali, Sharzia. (2024). AI-Based Biogas Fermentation Process Prediction Based on a Low-Cost Online Sensor System. IEEE International Conference on Frontiers of Information Technology (FIT), Islamabad, Pakistan.

• Wolff, Carsten, Cruz-Villazon, Carolina, et al. (2025). Sustainable Project Management for Energy. 29th International Congress on Project Management and Engineering, Ferrol, Spain.

Training, Capacity Building and Further Activities

• SusProLab Research Training Week (16–19 December 2024)

• • Sentiment Analysis Using R – Dr. Javid Iqbal

• • Structural Equation Modeling Using Smart PLS 4.0 – Dr. Asif Shahzad

• • Unlocking Data Stories: Thematic Analysis using NVivo – Dr. Muhammadi Sabra Nadeem

• • Project Management Research Methods – Mr. Riffat Abbas Rizvi & Dr. Mahwish Parveen

• PhD Study by Shazia Nadir Ali: Focuses on adapting Sustainable Project Management (SPM) methodologies to the socio-economic and cultural contexts of Pakistan, with an emphasis on renewable energy projects such as Mini Hydro Power Projects (MHPPs).

• Keynote at SAICON conference 2025 by Jan Christoph Albrecht: Sustainable Project Management in Development Cooperation:
  How Much Governance is Desirable?

• Keynote at SAICON conference 2025 by Carsten Wolff: Sustainable & Smart Regional Energy Systems in Germany

• Participation in DAAD project managers’ meeting 2024, funding line ‘German-Pakistani Cooperations’

Research Insights

• Literature review on success factors of projects of international development cooperation: Delivering the benefits and meeting expectations of beneficiaries, stakeholders, donors or funding agencies; involvement of beneficiaries; shift to participatory approaches; empowerment of recipients; sustainability and independence; alignment with Modern Development Theory

• Literature review, document analysis and conceptual work: Development of a framework of ‘Sustainable Project Management (SPM)’

• Meta-study of empirical quantitative studies: Dependent variables – and socio-economic indicators – such as hours of study, agricultural productivity, economic modernization, tourism, and health improvements are documented both theoretically and empirically as being affected by MHPP interventions.

• Focus-group interview:

• • Accountability and commitment/involvement by locals

• • • adaptability to the needs of the people; no rigid framework

• • • best projects are those that have originally been designed for/from a certain community (cultural background knowledge and trust creation required)

• • “You cannot reach a goal in time”, i.e., within the time frame of one project

• • Cross-organizational collaboration and partnership at eye-level