Project management office in non-governmental organizations: an ex post facto study

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of project management offices (PMO) in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in fundraising linked to projects, under the theoretical lens of the resource-based view. Design/methodology/approach: Through a longitudinal analysis ex post facto study in a non-profit civil association, the authors examined by Mann-Whitney’s U tests the results before (2003-2008) and after (2009-2014) PMO implementation, to check if the office moderated the relationship between project management and fundraising for projects. Findings: Mann-Whitney’s U tests showed that PMO had, in those periods, a statistically significant influence in increasing the number of projects and decreasing the mean value of their budgets (p-value<0.05). Originality/value: Despite the wide range of studies on the contribution of PMOs to internal project management, there is a lack of empirical evidence on their moderation capacity, especially in NGOs. To fill this research gap, this study investigates the moderating role of PMO in NGOs, by examining their performance on fundraising processes, to contribute to a better understanding of potential PMO effects, particularly as a moderator of the relationship between project management and projects’ fundraising.