The Concept Symposia

Bi-annually, the Norwegian Ministry of Finance and the Concept Research Program welcome specially invited participants from governmental agencies, academia, consultancy firms, and project management associations. Participants are selected resource persons from all over the world with particular experience related to the specific symposium topics.
 

Concept Symposium 2010:
Decision makers, doers and advisors
- Joining forces to enhance utility of investments

The Concept Symposium 2010 on Project Governance was held at the historical Oscarsborg Fortress just outside Oslo, Norway on September 16th - 17th, 2010. 100 decision makers, doers and advisors from 15 countries participated. Here are some of the comments from the delegates:

"Thank you so much for organizing the conference last week.  It was an exceptional event with the best quality group of speakers and delegates I have had the pleasure of spending time with since the last symposium in Trondheim! Congratulations."

"Thank you for all that you and your colleagues did to make last week's Symposium such a success.  It was a magical venue and very stimulating company."

"I would like to take a moment to thank you for the flawless organization of the Concept Symposium event. Having organized conferences myself, I know from experience how hard it is to get everything right, yet somehow you managed. The event is quite unique in terms of atmosphere and the opportunity for discussion between the delegates"
  

Concept Symposium 2008:
Governance of Major Investment Projects

The Concept Symposium 2008 focused on the failure of many large investment projects to meet expectations in terms of producing anticipated long-term benefits has highlighted the need for improved project governance during the last few years.

The 3rd Concept Symposium zoomed in on this phenomenon from four different angles contributing towards an understanding of this complex issue:  
- The overall national public management perspective
- Experience with governance regimes in selected countries
- The business case and lessons from initiatives to improve quality at entry
- Recent research findings from the Concept research program
 

The topics covered in the Concept Symposium 2006 were: What are the current procedures applied in different countries and agencies - and what are their effects? What would it take to develop more effective governance regimes at international, government or corporate level to ensure maximum utility and return on investment for society and investors? What would be the optimal mix of regulations, economic means and information in improved governance regimes for major investment projects?

The Concept Symposium 2003 aimed to facilitate an arena where researchers and representatives of owners of large, public investment projects could exchange experiences and focus on answers and solutions to improve quality-at-entry of major public projects. The basic idea was to bring together a rather select, but diverse group of specially invited persons to enable targeted discussions and working sessions. The Concept Research Program wanted to share insights into the law-enforced Norwegian government scheme for front-end management of such projects, and understand what measures are taken in other countries. Further, to initiate fruitful discussions that could be of use to researchers and practitioners in their future work as well as spark ideas for future research and improvement work in this important field.